Recent advancements in quantum physics have unveiled a groundbreaking phenomenon known as the quantum memory burden effect, potentially reshaping our understanding of black holes and dark matter. This discovery, made by a team of researchers at the University of New Mexico, was published on January 13, 2025, and suggests that black holes can stabilize after losing half their mass, contradicting previous beliefs about their inevitable evaporation.
The quantum memory burden effect posits that the information contained within a black hole becomes more energetically favorable than the surrounding vacuum, allowing the black hole to halt its decay. This stability could have significant implications for primordial black holes (PBHs), which are theorized to have formed in the early universe and may constitute a substantial portion of dark matter.
Currently, dark matter remains one of the universe's greatest mysteries, with strong evidence supporting its existence but no direct detection on Earth. The new findings suggest that if dark matter is composed of PBHs, their stability could explain the lack of observed interactions with Earth-based detectors.
To confirm this hypothesis, researchers propose utilizing gravitational waves (GWs), ripples in spacetime that could indicate the formation of PBHs. The study indicates that GWs associated with memory-burdened PBHs could be detectable in upcoming experiments, particularly those targeting frequencies around 0.01-1 Hz. If detected, these signals would provide compelling evidence for the quantum memory burden effect and support the theory of PBHs as dark matter.
This discovery not only enhances our understanding of black holes but also opens new avenues for exploring the elusive nature of dark matter, potentially revolutionizing both fields of study.