A new approach for simulating PBH formation from generic curvature fluctuations with the Misner-Sharp formalism

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Escrivà, Albert
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Escrivà, Albert
author_facet Escrivà, Albert
contents Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) may have formed in the early Universe due to the collapse of super-horizon curvature fluctuations. Simulations of PBH formation have been essential for inferring the initial conditions that lead to black hole formation and for studying their properties and impact on our Universe. The Misner-Sharp formalism is commonly used as a standard approach for these simulations. Recently, type-II fluctuations, characterized by a non-monotonic areal radius, have gained interest. In the standard Misner-Sharp approach for simulating PBH formation with these fluctuations, the evolution equations exhibit divergent terms ($0/0$), which complicate and prevent the simulations. We formulate a new approach to overcome this issue in a simple manner by using the trace of the extrinsic curvature as an auxiliary variable, allowing simulations of type-II fluctuations within the Misner-Sharp formalism. Using a set of standard exponential-shaped curvature profiles, we apply and test our new approach and numerical code based on pseudospectral methods to study the time evolution of the gravitational collapse, threshold values of type A/B PBHs and PBH mass. Interestingly, we identify cases of type-II fluctuations that do not necessarily result in PBH formation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_05813
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A new approach for simulating PBH formation from generic curvature fluctuations with the Misner-Sharp formalism
Escrivà, Albert
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) may have formed in the early Universe due to the collapse of super-horizon curvature fluctuations. Simulations of PBH formation have been essential for inferring the initial conditions that lead to black hole formation and for studying their properties and impact on our Universe. The Misner-Sharp formalism is commonly used as a standard approach for these simulations. Recently, type-II fluctuations, characterized by a non-monotonic areal radius, have gained interest. In the standard Misner-Sharp approach for simulating PBH formation with these fluctuations, the evolution equations exhibit divergent terms ($0/0$), which complicate and prevent the simulations. We formulate a new approach to overcome this issue in a simple manner by using the trace of the extrinsic curvature as an auxiliary variable, allowing simulations of type-II fluctuations within the Misner-Sharp formalism. Using a set of standard exponential-shaped curvature profiles, we apply and test our new approach and numerical code based on pseudospectral methods to study the time evolution of the gravitational collapse, threshold values of type A/B PBHs and PBH mass. Interestingly, we identify cases of type-II fluctuations that do not necessarily result in PBH formation.
title A new approach for simulating PBH formation from generic curvature fluctuations with the Misner-Sharp formalism
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.05813