Signatures of microscopic black holes and extra dimensions at future neutrino telescopes

TL;DR

This paper explores how future neutrino telescopes could detect microscopic black holes predicted by theories with large extra dimensions, revealing unique signatures that extend the energy reach beyond current colliders.

Contribution

It identifies novel observable signatures of microscopic black holes in next-generation neutrino detectors, expanding the potential for testing theories with large extra dimensions.

Findings

Neutrino telescopes can probe Planck scales up to 6 TeV.

Unique event topologies can extend detection reach beyond collider limits.

Detection of unusual energy ratios and delayed Cherenkov signals are key signatures.

Abstract

In scenarios with large extra dimensions (LEDs), the fundamental Planck scale can be low enough that collisions between high-energy particles may produce microscopic black holes. High-energy cosmic neutrinos can carry energies much larger than a PeV, opening the door to a higher energy range than Earth-based colliders. Here, for the first time, we identify a number of unique signatures of microscopic black holes as they would appear in the next generation of large-scale neutrino observatories such as IceCube-Gen2 and the Pacific Ocean Neutrino Explorer. These signatures include new event topologies, energy distributions, and unusual ratios of hadronic-to-electronic energy deposition, visible through Cherenkov light echos due to delayed neutron recombination. We find that the next generation of neutrino telescopes can probe LEDs with a Planck scale up to 6 TeV, though the identification of unique topologies could push their reach even further.