LISA's Primordial Black Hole Search Hampered by Non-Gaussianity

This paper examines the impact of non-Gaussianity on LISA's search for asteroid-mass primordial black hole (PBH) dark matter. LISA can observe millihertz gravitational wave (GW) backgrounds, potentially offering a test for PBH DM. However, the presence of astrophysical foregrounds and strongly non-Gaussian primordial density perturbations complicates the search. The authors show that failing to detect a scalar-induced gravitational wave (SIGW) background does not necessarily exclude PBH DM due to these factors. They analyze the interplay between PBHs and SIGWs to gain insights into primordial non-Gaussianity. Uncertainties in fNL can induce substantial uncertainties in the PBH abundance, limiting LISA's capacity to fully probe the asteroid-mass PBH DM window. This research highlights the challenges in using gravitational wave observations to detect primordial black holes and emphasizes the need for improved understanding of non-Gaussianity. Future studies should focus on developing methods to mitigate the effects of astrophysical foregrounds and non-Gaussianity in PBH searches. LISA is a planned space-based gravitational wave observatory led by the European Space Agency (ESA).

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