Multi-messenger Constraints on a Primordial Black Hole Origin of the KM3-230213A Event

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether a primordial black hole could explain a high-energy neutrino event, using multi-messenger observations to rule out this hypothesis under standard assumptions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive multi-messenger analysis that constrains the primordial black hole origin of the KM3-230213A event, considering observational data and theoretical models.

Findings

Current gamma-ray and cosmic-ray observations would have detected signals if a nearby PBH caused the event.

Neutrino telescopes would have observed lower-energy events prior to the burst.

Absence of these signals strongly disfavors the PBH explanation in the minimal model.

Abstract

Black holes are expected to end their lifetime in a burst of Hawking radiation, emitting all Standard Model particles at ultra-high energies. The evaporation of a nearby primordial black hole (PBH) has been proposed as an explanation for the high-energy neutrino-like event reported by KM3NeT. Such a scenario requires the source to be extremely close to Earth, implying detectable gamma-ray and cosmic-ray emission. Accounting for the time-dependent field of view of gamma-ray observatories, we find that current experiments should have observed a pre-burst signal, while neutrino telescopes would also detect lower-energy events before the burst. The absence of such multimessenger signals strongly disfavors a PBH origin of the KM3-230213A event in the minimal 4D Schwarzschild scenario.