24–28 Aug 2026
Leiden University
Europe/Zurich timezone

Primordial Black Holes: Small Scales, Big Questions

Not scheduled
20m
Gorlaeus gebouw (Leiden University)

Gorlaeus gebouw

Leiden University

Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden
Talk Early Universe

Speaker

Samuel Young (University of Sussex)

Description

Primordial black holes (PBHs) may have formed from the collapse of large density fluctuations in the early Universe and provide a powerful probe of the primordial power spectrum on otherwise inaccessible scales. However, translating PBH abundances into constraints on primordial physics remains limited by theoretical uncertainties. A key source of this uncertainty is the choice of window function, which describes how fluctuations on different scales contribute to collapse. Despite its central role, this ingredient is often treated in a simplified or inconsistent way.

In this talk, I will highlight the impact of the window function on PBH predictions and present recent work aimed at improving its modelling, including exploratory machine learning approaches. These results represent a step toward a more robust connection between early-Universe physics and PBH observables.

Other topic / keywords: Primordial black holes

Author

Samuel Young (University of Sussex)

Presentation materials

There are no materials yet.