$\mu$-distortion around stupendously large primordial black holes

TL;DR

This paper explores how the non-observation of certain CMB distortions can set new limits on the abundance of extremely large primordial black holes, linking early universe physics with observable cosmic signals.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to constrain supermassive primordial black holes using $bc$-distortion limits in the CMB spectrum, extending bounds to larger mass ranges.

Findings

Non-observation of $bc$-distortion constrains supermassive PBH density.

Black holes with mass >10^{12} M_{\u0000b7} could produce detectable pointlike distortions.

Future measurements could tighten bounds on the population of large primordial black holes.

Abstract

In a variety of mechanisms generating primordial black holes, each black hole is expected to form along with a surrounding underdense region that roughly compensates the black hole mass. This region will propagate outwards and expand as a shell at the speed of sound in the homogeneous background. Dissipation of the shell due to Silk damping could lead to detectable $\mu$-distortion in the CMB spectrum. While the current bound on the average $\mu$-distortion is $\left| \bar{\mu}\right|\lesssim10^{-4}$, the standard $\Lambda$CDM model predicts $\left| \bar{\mu}\right|\sim10^{-8}$, which could possibly be detected in future missions. It is shown in this work that the non-observation of $\bar{\mu}$ beyond $\Lambda$CDM can place a new upper bound on the density of supermassive primordial black holes within the mass range $10^{6}M_{\odot}\lesssim M\lesssim10^{15}M_{\odot}$. Furthermore, black holes with initial mass $M\gtrsim10^{12}M_{\odot}$ could leave a pointlike distortion with $\mu\gtrsim10^{-8}$ at an angular scale $\sim 1^{\circ}$ in CMB, and its non-observation would impose an even more stringent bound on the population of these stupendously large primordial black holes.