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Mini-review on the production of Primordial Black Holes from First-Order Phase Transitions in the Early Universe

Indra Kumar Banerjee, Ujjal Kumar Dey, Shaaban Khalil

TL;DR

This mini-review compiles the landscape of primordial black hole formation from first-order phase transitions in the early universe, separating model-independent and model-dependent creation mechanisms. It details two primary model-independent routes—overdense patches from delayed percolation and curvature perturbations from nucleation-time fluctuations—and surveys model-dependent routes involving Fermi balls, Q-balls, and cosmic strings. The work connects key FOPT parameters such as the nucleation and percolation temperatures, the strength $\alpha$, and the duration $\beta/H$ to PBH abundances and mass spectra, and links these scenarios to gravitational-wave expectations and dark matter constraints. By presenting concrete examples with scale-invariant and hidden-sector extensions, it demonstrates how PBHs can constitute all or a portion of dark matter under specific conditions, while highlighting areas of uncertainty that motivate future simulations and observational probes. Overall, the article bridges high-energy cosmology and compact-object phenomenology, offering a structured roadmap for exploring PBH production from FOPTs in both theory and data.

Abstract

We review the creation mechanism of primordial black holes from first order phase transitions. We discuss various model-dependent and independent mechanisms and relate the properties of these mechanisms to the properties of primordial black holes. For each of these mechanisms, we provide model-specific examples.

Mini-review on the production of Primordial Black Holes from First-Order Phase Transitions in the Early Universe

TL;DR

This mini-review compiles the landscape of primordial black hole formation from first-order phase transitions in the early universe, separating model-independent and model-dependent creation mechanisms. It details two primary model-independent routes—overdense patches from delayed percolation and curvature perturbations from nucleation-time fluctuations—and surveys model-dependent routes involving Fermi balls, Q-balls, and cosmic strings. The work connects key FOPT parameters such as the nucleation and percolation temperatures, the strength , and the duration to PBH abundances and mass spectra, and links these scenarios to gravitational-wave expectations and dark matter constraints. By presenting concrete examples with scale-invariant and hidden-sector extensions, it demonstrates how PBHs can constitute all or a portion of dark matter under specific conditions, while highlighting areas of uncertainty that motivate future simulations and observational probes. Overall, the article bridges high-energy cosmology and compact-object phenomenology, offering a structured roadmap for exploring PBH production from FOPTs in both theory and data.

Abstract

We review the creation mechanism of primordial black holes from first order phase transitions. We discuss various model-dependent and independent mechanisms and relate the properties of these mechanisms to the properties of primordial black holes. For each of these mechanisms, we provide model-specific examples.
Paper Structure (8 sections, 42 equations, 7 figures)

This paper contains 8 sections, 42 equations, 7 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Primordial Black Hole: A brief recap
  3. First-Order Phase Transition
  4. Primordial Black Holes from First Order Phase Transitions
  5. Model-independent Mechanisms
  6. Model-dependent Mechanisms
  7. Examples
  8. Conclusion

Figures (7)

  • Figure 1: The constraints on PBH abundance $f(M)$ depending on their mass $M$. This figure is taken from Ref. Carr:2020gox.
  • Figure 2: Evolution of the effective potential with temperature, where the upper curves denote the potential at higher temperature. The figure is taken from Ref. Rubakov:2014erg.
  • Figure 3: The evolution of a patch of the universe during a FOPT. The evolution of the patch proceeds as Top-left $\rightarrow$ Top-right $\rightarrow$ Bottom-left $\rightarrow$ Bottom-right. The figure is constructed from frames of a simulation performed in Ref. Weir:2017wfa.
  • Figure 4: A schematic diagram of the PBH creation mechanism (taken from Ref. Gouttenoire:2023naa).
  • Figure 5: The allowed region of $\beta/H$ and $T_{\mathrm{eq}}$ obtained from this PBH production mechanism. (Taken from Ref. Gouttenoire:2023naa.)
  • ...and 2 more figures