We devise a novel mechanism and for the first time demonstrate that the Higgs model in particle physics can drive the inflation to satisfy the cosmic microwave background observations and simultaneously enhance the curvature perturbations at small scales to explain the abundance of dark matter in our universe in the form of primordial black holes. The production of primordial black holes is accompanied by the secondary gravitational waves induced by the first order Higgs fluctuations which is expected observable by space-based gravitational wave detectors. We propose possible cosmological probes of Higgs field in the future observations for primordial black holes dark matter or stochastic gravitational waves.
The possibility that in the mass range around $10^{-12} M_odot$ most of dark matter constitutes of primordial black holes (PBHs) is a very interesting topic. To produce PBHs with this mass, the primordial scalar power spectrum needs to be enhanced to the order of 0.01 at the scale $ksim 10^{12} text{Mpc}^{-1}$. The enhanced power spectrum also produces large secondary gravitational waves at the mHz band. A phenomenological delta function power spectrum is usually used to discuss the production of PBHs and secondary gravitational waves. Based on G and k inflations, we propose a new mechanism to enhance the power spectrum at small scales by introducing a non-canonical kinetic term $[1-2G(phi)]X$ with the function $G(phi)$ having a peak. Away from the peak, $G(phi)$ is negligible and we recover the usual slow-roll inflation which is constrained by the cosmic microwave background anisotrpy observations. Around the peak, the slow-roll inflation transiently turns to ultra slow-roll inflation. The enhancement of the power spectrum can be obtained with generic potentials, and there is no need to fine tune the parameters in $G(phi)$. The energy spectrum $Omega_{GW}(f)$ of secondary gravitational waves have the characteristic power law behaviour $Omega_{GW}(f)sim f^{n}$ and is testable by pulsar timing array and space based gravitational wave detectors.
The formation of primordial black hole (PBH) dark matter and the generation of scalar induced secondary gravitational waves (SIGWs) have been studied in the generic no-scale supergravity inflationary models. By adding an exponential term to the Kahler potential, the inflaton experiences a period of ultra-slow-roll and the amplitude of primordial power spectrum is enhanced to $mathcal{O}(10^{-2})$. The enhanced power spectra of primordial curvature perturbations can have both sharp and broad peaks. A wide mass range of PBH is realized in our model, and the frequencies of the scalar induced gravitational waves are ranged form nHz to Hz. We show three benchmark points where the PBH mass generated during inflation is around $mathcal{O}(10^{-16}M_{odot})$, $mathcal{O}(10^{-12}M_{odot})$ and $mathcal{O}(M_{odot})$. The PBHs with masses around $mathcal{O}(10^{-16}M_{odot})$ and $ mathcal{O}(10^{-12}M_{odot})$ can make up almost all the dark matter, and the associated SIGWs can be probed by the upcoming space-based gravitational wave (GW) observatory. Also, the wide SIGWs associated with the formation of solar mass PBH can be used to interpret the stochastic GW background in the nHz band, detected by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, and can be tested by future interferometer-type GW observations.
The production of primordial black hole (PBH) dark matter (DM) and the generation of scalar induced secondary gravitational waves by using the enhancement mechanism with a peak function in the non-canonical kinetic term in natural inflation is discussed. We show explicitly that the power spectrum for the primordial curvature perturbation is enhanced at $10^{12}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, $10^{8}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ and $10^{5}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, the production of PBH DM with peak masses around $10^{-13} M_{odot}$, the earths mass and the stellar mass, and the generation of scalar induced gravitational waves (SIGWs) with peak frequencies around mHz, $10^{-6}$ Hz and nHz, respectively. The PBHs with the mass scale $10^{-13} M_{odot}$ can make up almost all the DM and the associated SIGWs is testable by spaced based gravitational wave observatory.
Chaotic inflation is inconsistent with the observational constraint at 68% CL. Here, we show that the enhancement mechanism with a peak function in the noncanonical kinetic term not only helps the chaotic model $V(phi)=V_0phi^{1/3}$ satisfy the observational constraint at large scales but also enhances the primordial scalar power spectrum by seven orders of magnitude at small scales. The enhanced curvature perturbations can produce primordial black holes of different masses and secondary gravitational waves with different peak frequencies. We also show that the non-Gaussianities of curvature perturbations have little effect on the abundance of primordial black holes and energy density of the scalar-induced secondary gravitational waves.
We investigate the production of primordial black holes (PBHs) and scalar-induced gravitational waves (GWs) for cosmological models in the Horndeski theory of gravity. The cosmological models of our interest incorporate the derivative self-interaction of the scalar field and the kinetic coupling between the scalar field and gravity. We show that the scalar power spectrum of the primordial fluctuations can be enhanced on small scales due to these additional interactions. Thus, the formation of PBHs and the production of induced GWs are feasible for our model. Parameterizing the scalar power spectrum with a local Gaussian peak, we first estimate the abundance of PBHs and the energy spectrum of GWs produced in the radiation-dominated era. Then, to explain the small-scale enhancement in the power spectrum, we reconstruct the inflaton potential and self-coupling functions from the power spectrum and their spectral tilt. Our results show that the small-scale enhancement in the power spectrum can be explained by the local feature, either a peak or dip, in the self-coupling function rather than the local feature in the inflaton potential.