Cosmological discrete self-similarity in primordial black hole formation

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Padilla, Luis E., Harada, Tomohiro, Milligan, Ethan, Mulryne, David
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Padilla, Luis E.
Harada, Tomohiro
Milligan, Ethan
Mulryne, David
author_facet Padilla, Luis E.
Harada, Tomohiro
Milligan, Ethan
Mulryne, David
contents We demonstrate that discrete self-similarity (DSS), originally discovered in the collapse of a massless scalar field in an asymptotically flat system, survives in primordial black hole (PBH) formation within an expanding cosmological background. Using fully relativistic numerical simulations of massless scalar-field collapse in an Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe, we resolve the critical regime down to $|p-p_c|\sim 10^{-8}$, where $p$ and $p_c$ respectively are a parameter of the family of initial data and its threshold value, and find clear log-periodic oscillations in the PBH mass scaling relation. The detailed structure of these oscillations differs from that previously reported in the asymptotically flat case, exhibiting a more pronounced asymmetry between peaks and troughs. Analyzing two distinct families of initial data (Gaussian and piecewise rational curvature profiles), we find critical exponents and DSS periods that differ slightly but are broadly consistent within uncertainties. The presence of DSS implies characteristic log-periodic modulations in the PBH mass spectrum, with potential consequences for PBH abundances and the spectrum of induced gravitational waves.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_21520
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cosmological discrete self-similarity in primordial black hole formation
Padilla, Luis E.
Harada, Tomohiro
Milligan, Ethan
Mulryne, David
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
We demonstrate that discrete self-similarity (DSS), originally discovered in the collapse of a massless scalar field in an asymptotically flat system, survives in primordial black hole (PBH) formation within an expanding cosmological background. Using fully relativistic numerical simulations of massless scalar-field collapse in an Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe, we resolve the critical regime down to $|p-p_c|\sim 10^{-8}$, where $p$ and $p_c$ respectively are a parameter of the family of initial data and its threshold value, and find clear log-periodic oscillations in the PBH mass scaling relation. The detailed structure of these oscillations differs from that previously reported in the asymptotically flat case, exhibiting a more pronounced asymmetry between peaks and troughs. Analyzing two distinct families of initial data (Gaussian and piecewise rational curvature profiles), we find critical exponents and DSS periods that differ slightly but are broadly consistent within uncertainties. The presence of DSS implies characteristic log-periodic modulations in the PBH mass spectrum, with potential consequences for PBH abundances and the spectrum of induced gravitational waves.
title Cosmological discrete self-similarity in primordial black hole formation
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.21520