https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-12383-8
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Magnetic monopole meets primordial black hole: an extended analysis
1
Key Laboratory of Cosmology and Astrophysics (Liaoning) and College of Sciences, Northeastern University, 110819, Shenyang, China
2
Key Laboratory of Data Analytics and Optimization for Smart Industry (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, 110819, Shenyang, China
3
National Frontiers Science Center for Industrial Intelligence and Systems Optimization, Northeastern University, 110819, Shenyang, China
Received:
3
October
2023
Accepted:
28
December
2023
Published online:
30
January
2024
We investigate gravitational capture of magnetic monopoles by primordial black holes (PBH) that evaporate before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), a hypothetical process which was once proposed as an alternative solution to the monopole problem. Magnetic monopoles produced in phase transitions of a grand or partially unified gauge theory are considered. We prove analytically that for all extended PBH mass functions that preserve radiation domination, it is impossible to reduce the monopole abundance via gravitational capture by PBHs to values significantly below the one set by monopole annihilation (or below its initial abundance if it is smaller), regardless of the nature of the capture process (diffusive or non-diffusive). Therefore, the monopole problem cannot be solved by PBH capture in a radiation-dominated era in the early universe.
© The Author(s) 2024
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Funded by SCOAP3.
