Microlensing Black Hole Shadows-II: Constraining Primordial Black Hole Dark Matter using the photon rings of M87 and Sgr A*
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866914216858877952 |
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| author | Verma, Himanshu Sarmah, Priyanka Silk, Joseph Cheung, Kingman |
| author_facet | Verma, Himanshu Sarmah, Priyanka Silk, Joseph Cheung, Kingman |
| contents | The resolution of photon rings of Sgr~A$^*$ and M87 is the next milestone of upcoming EHT-like interferometries. We extend the formalism developed in our previous work~\cite{Verma:2023hes} to constrain primordial black hole (PBH) dark matter using microlensing-induced distortions of black hole shadows. Building upon the theoretical framework for microlensing of photon rings, we apply this methodology to both Sgr A* and M87, considering multiple PBH populations: (i) PBH dark matter spikes around central supermassive black holes, (ii) NFW halo contributions in the Milky Way and M87 galaxies, and (iii) foreground Milky Way PBH dark matter affecting M87* observations. The microlensing signal manifests as a time-dependent asymmetry and deformation of the photon ring, providing the most sensitive observable for lensing effects. We assess the detectability of these signatures with future EHT-like interferometers. Our analysis reveals that M87* provides the strongest constraints on PBH dark matter. We show that the absence of photon-ring asymmetries in observations with angular resolution of order $0.1\,μ{\rm as}$ can constrain PBHs in the mass range $10^{-5}\,M_\odot \lesssim M_{\rm PBH} \lesssim 10^{6}\,M_\odot$, with maximal sensitivity near $M_{\rm PBH}\sim10^{3}\,M_\odot$, for PBH dark matter fractions as small as $f_{\rm PBH}\sim10^{-2}$. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_20037 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Microlensing Black Hole Shadows-II: Constraining Primordial Black Hole Dark Matter using the photon rings of M87 and Sgr A* Verma, Himanshu Sarmah, Priyanka Silk, Joseph Cheung, Kingman Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Physics - Phenomenology The resolution of photon rings of Sgr~A$^*$ and M87 is the next milestone of upcoming EHT-like interferometries. We extend the formalism developed in our previous work~\cite{Verma:2023hes} to constrain primordial black hole (PBH) dark matter using microlensing-induced distortions of black hole shadows. Building upon the theoretical framework for microlensing of photon rings, we apply this methodology to both Sgr A* and M87, considering multiple PBH populations: (i) PBH dark matter spikes around central supermassive black holes, (ii) NFW halo contributions in the Milky Way and M87 galaxies, and (iii) foreground Milky Way PBH dark matter affecting M87* observations. The microlensing signal manifests as a time-dependent asymmetry and deformation of the photon ring, providing the most sensitive observable for lensing effects. We assess the detectability of these signatures with future EHT-like interferometers. Our analysis reveals that M87* provides the strongest constraints on PBH dark matter. We show that the absence of photon-ring asymmetries in observations with angular resolution of order $0.1\,μ{\rm as}$ can constrain PBHs in the mass range $10^{-5}\,M_\odot \lesssim M_{\rm PBH} \lesssim 10^{6}\,M_\odot$, with maximal sensitivity near $M_{\rm PBH}\sim10^{3}\,M_\odot$, for PBH dark matter fractions as small as $f_{\rm PBH}\sim10^{-2}$. |
| title | Microlensing Black Hole Shadows-II: Constraining Primordial Black Hole Dark Matter using the photon rings of M87 and Sgr A* |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Physics - Phenomenology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.20037 |