Recent gravitational-wave observations of binary black-hole mergers and the stochastic gravitational-wave background have triggered renewed interest in primordial black holes in the stellar-mass ( \({\sim }10 - 100\ \mathrm M_\odot \) ) and supermassive regimes ( \({\sim }10^7 - 10^{11}\ \mathrm M_\odot \) ). Although only a small fraction ( \(\lesssim 1\%\) ) of dark matter in the form of primordial black holes is required to explain such observations, these primordial black holes may play important roles in early structure/star/galaxy formation. In this chapter, we combine semi-analytical analysis and cosmological simulations to explore the possible impact of primordial black holes on the formation of the first stars and galaxies, taking into account two (competing) effects of primordial black holes: acceleration of structure formation and gas heating by black hole accretion feedback. We find that the impact of stellar-mass primordial black holes (allowed by existing observational constraints) on primordial star formation is likely minor, although they do alter the properties of the first star-forming halos/clouds and can potentially trigger the formation of massive black holes, while supermassive primordial black holes serve as seeds of massive structures that can explain the apparent overabundance of massive galaxies in recent observations. Our tentative models and results call for future studies with improved modeling of the interactions between primordial black holes, particle dark matter, and baryons to better understand the impact of primordial black holes on early star/galaxy/structure formation and their imprints in high-redshift observations.

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Impact of Primordial Black Holes on the Formation of the First Stars and Galaxies

  • Boyuan Liu,
  • Volker Bromm

摘要

Recent gravitational-wave observations of binary black-hole mergers and the stochastic gravitational-wave background have triggered renewed interest in primordial black holes in the stellar-mass ( \({\sim }10 - 100\ \mathrm M_\odot \) ) and supermassive regimes ( \({\sim }10^7 - 10^{11}\ \mathrm M_\odot \) ). Although only a small fraction ( \(\lesssim 1\%\) ) of dark matter in the form of primordial black holes is required to explain such observations, these primordial black holes may play important roles in early structure/star/galaxy formation. In this chapter, we combine semi-analytical analysis and cosmological simulations to explore the possible impact of primordial black holes on the formation of the first stars and galaxies, taking into account two (competing) effects of primordial black holes: acceleration of structure formation and gas heating by black hole accretion feedback. We find that the impact of stellar-mass primordial black holes (allowed by existing observational constraints) on primordial star formation is likely minor, although they do alter the properties of the first star-forming halos/clouds and can potentially trigger the formation of massive black holes, while supermassive primordial black holes serve as seeds of massive structures that can explain the apparent overabundance of massive galaxies in recent observations. Our tentative models and results call for future studies with improved modeling of the interactions between primordial black holes, particle dark matter, and baryons to better understand the impact of primordial black holes on early star/galaxy/structure formation and their imprints in high-redshift observations.