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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22220 |
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| _version_ | 1866915952488087552 |
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| author | Baumgarte, Thomas W. Shapiro, Stuart L. |
| author_facet | Baumgarte, Thomas W. Shapiro, Stuart L. |
| contents | While no gravitational-wave detection of subsolar mass black holes has been confirmed to date, a number of candidate detections invite us to speculate on the origin of such black holes should a detection be confirmed. It is generally assumed that the observation of a black hole with subsolar mass $M_{\rm obs}$ would provide strong evidence for primordial black holes (PBHs). The mass $M_{\rm PBH}$ of the PBH, however, does not necessarily have to be equal to $M_{\rm obs}$, as it would in what we term a ``direct PBH scenario". Instead, a black hole of mass $M_{\rm obs}$ may form in a capture of a much smaller primordial black hole, $M_{\rm PBH} \ll M_{\rm obs}$, by a dwarf star of mass $M_* \simeq M_{\rm obs}$, followed by the total consumption of the star by the PBH. We provide some rough estimates and demonstrate that such an ``indirect PBH scenario" may also lead to significant populations of black holes with mass $M_{\rm obs}$, especially in dwarf galaxies, and may be able to explain rare subsolar mass events. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_22220 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Subsolar mass black holes from stellar collapse induced by primordial black holes Baumgarte, Thomas W. Shapiro, Stuart L. High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology While no gravitational-wave detection of subsolar mass black holes has been confirmed to date, a number of candidate detections invite us to speculate on the origin of such black holes should a detection be confirmed. It is generally assumed that the observation of a black hole with subsolar mass $M_{\rm obs}$ would provide strong evidence for primordial black holes (PBHs). The mass $M_{\rm PBH}$ of the PBH, however, does not necessarily have to be equal to $M_{\rm obs}$, as it would in what we term a ``direct PBH scenario". Instead, a black hole of mass $M_{\rm obs}$ may form in a capture of a much smaller primordial black hole, $M_{\rm PBH} \ll M_{\rm obs}$, by a dwarf star of mass $M_* \simeq M_{\rm obs}$, followed by the total consumption of the star by the PBH. We provide some rough estimates and demonstrate that such an ``indirect PBH scenario" may also lead to significant populations of black holes with mass $M_{\rm obs}$, especially in dwarf galaxies, and may be able to explain rare subsolar mass events. |
| title | Subsolar mass black holes from stellar collapse induced by primordial black holes |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22220 |