I will explore the connections between black hole phenomenology and dark matter searches from different angles.
In the first part of the talk, I will discuss the idea that black holes of primordial origin may constitute a portion of the dark matter that permeates the Universe, and explore the consequences of this idea in a cosmological context. In particular, I will discuss a recent comprehensive analysis of the upper limit on their abundance obtained by analyzing the angular power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background, with special focus on the role of radiation feedback.
In the second part, I will show how DM over-densities around intermediate-mass black holes can leave a fingerprint on gravitational wave signals, and will demonstrate that the upcoming LISA experiment has the potential to discover such signatures and hence indirectly detect DM. I will also present a recent realistic model for the formation of such over-densities based on a three-step process: i) adiabatic growth of a stellar object at the centre of a DM halo; ii) instantaneous collapse of the massive star to a BH; iii) adiabatic growth of the BH to its final mass.
IFIC seminar organizers