PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv
Reviving primordial black hole formation in slow first-order phase transitions
Abstract
Large curvature perturbations generated during slow first-order phase transitions are a promising source of primordial black holes. However, recent analyses suggested that the mechanism is ruled out once the density contrast and the formation threshold are evaluated in the same gauge. In this work, we show that this mechanism remains viable: after a supercooled transition, reheating can be sufficiently slow that the Universe enters an early matter-dominated era, during which even small overdensities grow and collapse into primordial black holes.
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BibTeX
@misc{ai2026reviving,
title = {{Reviving primordial black hole formation in slow first-order phase transitions}},
author = {Wen-Yuan Ai and Ke-Pan Xie},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.11332},
eprint = {2605.11332},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.11332},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Reviving primordial black hole formation in slow first-order phase transitions
AU - Wen-Yuan Ai
AU - Ke-Pan Xie
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.11332
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.11332
AB - Large curvature perturbations generated during slow first-order phase transitions are a promising source of primordial black holes. However, recent analyses suggested that the mechanism is ruled out once the density contrast and the formation threshold are evaluated in the same gauge. In this work, we show that this mechanism remains viable: after a supercooled transition, reheating can be sufficiently slow that the Universe enters an early matter-dominated era, during which even small overdensities grow and collapse into primordial black holes.
ER -