Such a blast would strongly support the existence of a theorized but never directly observed kind of black hole called a “primordial black hole,” which may have formed less than a second after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.
But, as physicist Stephen Hawking pointed out in 1970, another kind of black hole—a primordial black hole (PBH), could be created not by the collapse of a star but from the universe’s primordial conditions shortly after the Big Bang.
PBHs, like the standard black holes, are so massively dense that almost nothing can escape them—which is what makes them “black.” However, despite their density, PBHs could be much lighter than the black holes we have so far observed.
In reality, such tiny black holes would have a difficult time forming the accretion disks that make them visible here.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center “The lighter a black hole is, the hotter it should be and the more particles it will emit.
According to physicists at UMass Amherst, such an explosion might take place in the upcoming ten years, “revolutionizing physics and rewriting the history of the universe.”. “.”.
Black holes die in rare explosions that happen no more than once every 100,000 years, according to physicists. Physicists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have published new research in Physical Review Letters that suggests a different perspective. According to the team, there is a greater than 90% chance that one of these explosions will be seen in the upcoming ten years. Today’s space and ground observatories should be able to record the event if observers get ready beforehand.
A blast like this would provide compelling evidence for the existence of a hypothetical but never observed “primordial black hole,” which could have formed less than a second after the Big Bang 13–8 billion years ago.
A definitive list of all subatomic particles might also be provided by the explosion. Known particles like quarks, Higgs bosons, and electrons would be on that list, along with hypothetical particles like dark matter candidates and anything else that science does not yet understand. Researchers could finally answer one of humanity’s most ancient questions with the help of such a catalog: where did everything originate?
Knowing about Black Holes.
We are aware that black holes exist and that their life cycle is well understood: an old, massive star runs out of fuel, explodes as a supernova with immense power, and leaves behind a region of spacetime that is so strongly gravitational that nothing can escape from it, not even light. These black holes are basically stable and extremely heavy.
However, physicist Stephen Hawking noted in 1970 that the primordial black hole (PBH), a different type of black hole, could form immediately after the Big Bang from the primordial conditions of the universe rather than from the collapse of a star. The characteristic that makes PBHs “black” is that, like regular black holes, they are so incredibly dense that nearly nothing can escape. But even though they are dense, PBHs might be substantially lighter than the black holes that we have seen thus far. In addition, Hawking demonstrated that black holes have a temperature and that, if heated sufficiently, they could theoretically release particles gradually through what is now referred to as “Hawking radiation.”.
This artist’s idea imagines tiny primordial black holes in a fantastical way. Such small black holes would actually struggle to form the accretion disks that give them their visibility here. Thanks to the Goddard Space Flight Center of NASA.
A black hole should be hotter and release more particles if it is lighter. PBHs become lighter and hotter as they evaporate, releasing more radiation in a process that runs amok until it explodes. UMass Amherst assistant professor of physics and co-author Andrea Thamm says, “Our telescopes are able to detect that Hawking radiation.”.
However, although we ought to be able to, no PBH has ever been directly observed.
Joaquim Iguaz Juan, a postdoctoral researcher in physics at UMass Amherst, states, “We know how to observe this Hawking radiation.”. With the telescopes we currently have, we can see it, and since these PBHs are the only black holes that have the potential to explode now or in the near future, we can be certain that if we see Hawking radiation, we are witnessing an exploding PBH. “.”.
A change of paradigm in expectations.
According to Iguaz Juan, “our job as physicists is to question the received assumptions, to ask better questions and come up with more precise hypotheses,” even though physicists since Hawking’s time have believed that the likelihood of witnessing an exploding PBH is minuscule. “”.
Prepare now to witness the explosion, the team’s new hypothesis. According to Aidan Symons, a physics graduate student at UMass Amherst and one of the paper’s co-authors, “we believe that there is up to a 90 percent chance of witnessing an exploding PBH in the next 10 years.”.
Within its project, the group investigates a “dark-QED toy model.”. In essence, this is a replica of the standard electric force as we know it, but it also contains a very heavy, hypothetical electron that the team refers to as a “dark electron.”. “.”.
Subsequently, the group reexamined long-held beliefs regarding black hole charging. It was believed that PBHs were electrically neutral, just as standard black holes are charge-free.
Michael Baker, co-author and assistant professor of physics at UMass Amherst, states, “We make a different assumption.”. We demonstrate that the toy model predicts that a primordial black hole made with a tiny dark electric charge will stabilize momentarily before exploding. With all available experimental data taken into consideration, they conclude that we might be able to witness a PBH explosion once every ten years rather than once every 100,000 years as was previously believed.
Baker states, “There may be a 90 percent chance that it will happen this decade, but we’re not saying that it will happen this decade.”. We should be prepared because we already have the technology to watch these explosions. “.”.
This would be the first direct observation of both a PBH and Hawking radiation ever,” Iguaz Juan continues. Additionally, a definitive record of each particle that constitutes the universe would be obtained. It would enable us to rewrite the universe’s history and fundamentally alter physics. “”.
Michael J.’s article “Could We Observe an Exploding Black Hole in the Near Future?” is cited. Baker, Andrea Thamm, Joaquim Iguaz Juan, and Aidan Symons, Physical Review Letters, September 10, 2025.
DOI: 10.1103/nwgd-g3zl.
