Peer-Reviewed Model Ties 2023 Ultra‑High‑Energy Neutrino to Exploding Primordial Black Hole

Overview

• UMass Amherst physicists report in Physical Review Letters that a 2023 KM3NeT neutrino event (~100–220 PeV) could be the signature of an evaporating primordial black hole.
• The proposed black holes carry a hypothetical dark charge involving a heavy “dark electron,” creating a quasi‑extremal state that shapes their emission spectrum.
• The model explains why KM3NeT recorded the ultra‑energetic neutrino while IceCube did not, by suppressing lower‑energy signals IceCube is more sensitive to.
• The authors say a population of such dark‑charged primordial black holes could be compatible with astrophysical constraints and potentially account for dark matter, pending tests.
• The work outlines observational checks, including rare but potentially decadal evaporation bursts, that could enable searches for Hawking radiation and new particles beyond the Standard Model.