Searching for a Black Hole in the Outer Solar System
Edward Witten

TL;DR
This paper explores methods to detect a potential primordial black hole in the outer Solar System, proposing spacecraft-based gravitational measurements as a way to identify it if conventional searches fail.
Contribution
It introduces a novel approach using laser-launched spacecraft to detect a black hole in the outer Solar System through precise gravitational measurements.
Findings
Spacecraft can reach 500 AU in about a decade at 0.001c.
Timing measurements with 10^{-5} s accuracy can reveal the black hole's gravitational influence.
This method offers an alternative to telescopic searches for non-conventional objects.
Abstract
There are hints of a novel object ("Planet 9") with a mass in the outer Solar System, at a distance of order 500 AU. If it is a relatively conventional planet, it can be found in telescopic searches. Alternatively, it has been suggested that this body might be a primordial black hole (PBH). In that case, conventional searches will fail. A possible alternative is to probe the gravitational field of this object using small, laser-launched spacecraft, like the ones envisioned in the Breakthrough Starshot project. With a velocity of order , such spacecraft can reach Planet 9 roughly a decade after launch and can discover it if they can report timing measurements accurate to seconds back to Earth.
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Taxonomy
TopicsCosmology and Gravitation Theories · Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena · Astro and Planetary Science
