Milagro limits and HAWC sensitivity for the rate-density of evaporating Primordial Black Holes

Authors

A. A. Abdo, Michigan State University
A. U. Abeysekara, Michigan State University
R. Alfaro, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
B. T. Allen, University of California, Irvine
C. Alvarez, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas
J. D. Álvarez, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
R. Arceo, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas
J. C. Arteaga-Velázquez, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
T. Aune, Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics
H. A. Ayala Solares, Michigan Technological University
A. S. Barber, The University of Utah
B. M. Baughman, University of Maryland
N. Bautista-Elivar, Universidad Politécnica de Pachuca
J. Becerra Gonzalez, University of Maryland
E. Belmont, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
S. Y. Benzvi, University of Rochester
D. Berley, University of Maryland
M. Bonilla Rosales, Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica Optica y Electronica
J. Braun, University of Maryland
R. A. Caballero-Lopez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
K. S. Caballero-Mora, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados
A. Carramiñana, Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica Optica y Electronica
M. Castillo, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla
G. E. Christopher, New York University
U. Cotti, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
J. Cotzomi, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla
E. De La Fuente, Universidad de Guadalajara
C. De León, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
T. Deyoung, Michigan State University
R. Diaz Hernandez, Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica Optica y Electronica
L. Diaz-Cruz, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla
J. C. Díaz-Vélez, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Abstract

© Published by Elsevier B.V. Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) are gravitationally collapsed objects that may have been created by density fluctuations in the early universe and could have arbitrarily small masses down to the Planck scale. Hawking showed that due to quantum effects, a black hole has a temperature inversely proportional to its mass and will emit all species of fundamental particles thermally. PBHs with initial masses of ∼5.0 × 1014 g should be expiring in the present epoch with bursts of high-energy particles, including gamma radiation in the GeV-TeV energy range. The Milagro high energy observatory, which operated from 2000 to 2008, is sensitive to the high end of the PBH evaporation gamma-ray spectrum. Due to its large field-of-view, more than 90% duty cycle and sensitivity up to 100 TeV gamma rays, the Milagro observatory is well suited to perform a search for PBH bursts. Based on a search on the Milagro data, we report new PBH burst rate density upper limits over a range of PBH observation times. In addition, we report the sensitivity of the Milagro successor, the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, to PBH evaporation events.

Publication Title

Astroparticle Physics

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