High-energy neutrino constraints on primordial black holes as dark matter

TL;DR

This paper uses high-energy neutrino data from IceCube and ANTARES to set new constraints on primordial black holes as dark matter candidates, especially for sub-asteroid masses.

Contribution

First-time use of high-energy neutrino observations to constrain primordial black holes with extended mass functions as dark matter.

Findings

Neutrino flux limits are slightly weaker than gamma-ray constraints but offer an independent probe.

Future detectors could exclude PBHs up to a few times 10^{18} grams as dark matter.

Neutrino data can complement existing observational constraints on primordial black holes.

Abstract

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are one of the most appealing dark matter candidates over a wide range of masses and abundances. This broad parameter space has been constrained by a variety of observational probes. In this work, for the first time, we use data from high-energy neutrino telescopes, like IceCube and ANTARES, to constrain sub-asteroid mass ($\lesssim 10^{18}\,\mathrm{g}$) Schwarzschild PBHs with extended mass functions. We derive limits from the diffuse high-energy neutrino flux produced by the direct evaporation of PBHs, as well as from the transient signatures associated with PBHs passing in the vicinity of the Earth. While our bounds are slightly weaker than existing constraints from gamma-ray observations, they provide an independent and complementary probe based on observational high-energy neutrino data. We further show that future detectors such as IceCube-Gen2 and KM3NeT can significantly improve these constraints, potentially excluding PBHs with masses up to $\sim \mathrm{few} \times 10^{18}\,\mathrm{g}$ composing the entirety of dark matter.