Search for the evaporation of primordial black holes with H.E.S.S.
F. Aharonian, F. Ait Benkhali, J. Aschersleben, M. Böttcher, Michael Backes, V. Barbosa Martins, R. Batzofin, Y. Becherini, D. Berge, Baiyang Bi, C. Boisson, J. Bolmont, Mathieu de Bony de Lavergne, Jowita Borowska, Federica Bradascio, Robert Brose, F. Brun, B. Bruno, T. Bulik, C. Burger-Scheidlin, Sami Caroff, S. Casanova, J. Celic, M. Cerruti, T. Chand, A. Chen, O. Chibueze, Garret Cotter, J. Damascene Mbarubucyeye, A. Djannati-Ataı̈, K. Egberts, C. van Eldik, J.-P. Ernenwein, M. Füßling, A. Fiaßon, Gaëtan Fichet de Clairfontaine, G. Fontaine, S. Gabici, S. Ghafourizadeh, G. Giavitto, D. Glawion, J. F. Glicenstein, G. Grolleron, M.-H. Grondin, L. Haerer, M. Haupt, J. A. Hinton, Werner Hofmann, M. Holler, D. Horns, Zhenyang Huang, M. Jamrozy, F. Jankowsky, Vikas Joshi, I. Jung-Richardt, E. Kasai, K. Katarzyński, B. Khélifi, S. Klepser, W. Kluźniak, Nu. Komin, K. Kosack, D. Kostunin, T. L. Holch, Rodrigo Guedes Lang, S. Le Stum, F. Leitl, A. Lemière, J.-P. Lenain, Fabian Leuschner, T. Lohse, Anna Luashvili, I. Lypova, Jonathan Mackey, D. Malyshev, V. Marandon, ¶. Marchegiani, Peter David Marinos, G. Martí-Devesa, R. Marx, Alison Mitchell, R. Moderski, L. Mohrmann, Alessandro Montanari, E. Moulin, J. M. Muller, Kaori Nakashima, M. de Naurois, J. Niemiec, P. T. O’Brien, S. Ohm, Laura Olivera-Nieto, E. de Oña Wilhelmi, M. Ostrowski, G. Pühlhofer, Sebastian Panny, M. Panter, R. D. Parsons, Giada Peron, A. Priyana Noel
Abstract
Abstract Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) are hypothetical black holes predicted to have been formed from density fluctuations in the early Universe. PBHs with an initial mass around 10 14 –10 15 g are expected to end their evaporation at present times in a burst of particles and very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays. Those gamma rays may be detectable by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.), an array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. This paper reports on the search for evaporation bursts of VHE gamma rays with H.E.S.S., ranging from 10 to 120 seconds, as expected from the final stage of PBH evaporation and using a total of 4816 hours of observations. The most constraining upper limit on the burst rate of local PBHs is 2000 pc -3 yr -1 for a burst interval of 120 seconds, at the 95% confidence level. The implication of these measurements for PBH dark matter are also discussed.