Primordial Black Holes as a dark matter candidate

Diverse astrophysical and cosmological observations indicate that most of the matter in the Universe is cold, dark and non-baryonic. Traditionally the most popular dark matter candidates have been new elementary particles, such as WIMPs and axions. However Primordial Black Holes (PBHs), black holes formed from over densities in the early Universe, are another possibility. The discovery of gravitational waves from mergers of ~10 Solar mass black hole binaries by LIGO-Virgo has generated a surge in interest in PBH dark matter. I will overview the formation of PBHs, the observational limits on their abundance and the key open questions in the field.

Colloquium in person