Dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries in modern science. We know it exists because of its gravity, but we cannot see it, touch it, or directly detect it. It does not emit light, so it is completely invisible. Yet, it plays a very important role in the Universe.
Scientists estimate that about 27% of the Universe is made of dark matter. It helps galaxies stay together, affects how stars move, and shapes the large structures of the Universe. But despite decades of research, we still do not know what it is made of.
For a long time, scientists believed dark matter might be made of new types of particles. However, many experiments have tried and failed to find them. Because of this, researchers are now exploring other possibilities. One of the most interesting ideas is that dark matter might be made of tiny black holes.
What Are These Tiny Black Holes?
Black holes are usually formed when large stars die and collapse under their own gravity. But there is another type of black hole that could have formed much earlier—just after the Big Bang.
These are called primordial black holes.
Primordial black holes are very different from normal black holes. Instead of forming from stars, they may have formed when the early Universe was extremely hot and dense. At that time, some regions had slightly more matter than others. These dense spots could collapse directly into black holes.
Because they formed so early, primordial black holes can have a huge range of sizes. Some may be extremely small, while others could be as massive as stars.
This makes them interesting candidates for dark matter because they do not need new particles—they are simply leftover objects from the early Universe.
The Problem: Black Holes Slowly Evaporate
There is one major issue with this idea.
According to physics, black holes are not completely permanent. They slowly lose energy and shrink over time through a process called Hawking radiation.
Hawking radiation explains that black holes emit tiny amounts of energy due to quantum effects near their edges. Over very long periods, this causes them to lose mass and eventually disappear.
This is a big problem for small primordial black holes. Calculations show that any black hole lighter than about 10¹⁵ grams should have already evaporated by now. That means, according to standard theory, tiny primordial black holes should not exist today.
If they do not exist, they cannot explain dark matter.
So scientists began asking: Is there any way these small black holes could survive longer?
New Ideas That Could Change the Picture
Recently, scientists have proposed two important ideas that could help small black holes survive longer than previously thought.
1. Regular Black Holes (Smooth Core Models)
In standard physics, black holes have a “singularity” at the center, where density becomes infinite. But this idea creates many mathematical problems.
To fix this, some theories suggest that black holes may actually have a smooth center instead of a singularity. These are called regular black holes.
Examples include:
Hayward black holes
Bardeen black holes
Simpson–Visser black holes
These models change how gravity behaves inside the black hole. Instead of having an infinite density point, the center is smooth and finite.
This small change has a big effect: it reduces the temperature of the black hole and slows down its evaporation. In simple words, these black holes lose mass more slowly than normal ones.
2. Memory Burden Effect
The second idea is called the memory burden effect.
memory burden effect suggests that as a black hole loses mass, it starts storing more internal “information.” This stored information creates resistance against further evaporation.
Think of it like this: the black hole becomes “heavier to change” as it shrinks. The more it evaporates, the harder it becomes to continue evaporating.
So instead of slowly disappearing at a steady rate, the black hole’s evaporation slows down significantly after it has lost some of its mass.
What Happens When Both Effects Are Combined?
A recent study by researchers Du, Zhang, and Li explored what happens when both ideas are applied together:
Regular black hole structure (smooth core)
Memory burden effect (slowing evaporation over time)
They studied three types of regular black holes and calculated how they would evaporate under these new conditions.
The result was surprising.
When both effects are included, small primordial black holes can survive much longer than expected. Their evaporation slows down at early stages due to their smooth structure and slows even more later because of the memory burden effect.
A New “Mass Window” Opens
One of the most important findings of the study is that a new allowed mass range appears for primordial black holes:
Between 10⁶ and 10⁸ grams
In this range, primordial black holes:
Do not evaporate too quickly
Can survive until today
Do not break early Universe constraints
Could exist in large enough numbers to explain dark matter
This is very important because earlier theories said such small black holes should not exist anymore.
Now, with these new effects, they might still be around.
Why This Matters for the Early Universe
The early Universe went through a very important stage called Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). During this time, the first light elements like hydrogen and helium were formed.
If black holes evaporate too quickly during this period, they release energy that can disturb the formation of these elements. That would conflict with what we observe today.
But in this new model, evaporation is much slower. This means small primordial black holes would not release too much energy during this period. As a result, they can avoid breaking these early Universe constraints.
Why Scientists Are Excited
This idea is exciting because it offers a completely different explanation for dark matter.
Instead of unknown particles, dark matter could simply be made of tiny black holes formed in the early Universe. These black holes would:
Be extremely small
Be invisible
Interact only through gravity
Remain stable for billions of years
This makes them perfect dark matter candidates.
Important Limitations
Even though this idea is promising, it is still not confirmed. There are some important limitations:
The models are theoretical
The memory burden effect is still being debated
Regular black holes are not fully proven in nature
More calculations and observations are needed
So, this is not a final answer, but a strong possibility worth exploring.
What This Study Really Shows
The main message of the research is simple:
Small changes in black hole physics can lead to big changes in how long they survive.
By combining two new ideas—regular black holes and memory burden effect—scientists found that tiny primordial black holes might survive much longer than previously thought.
This opens a new path in the search for dark matter and challenges older assumptions about black hole evaporation.
Conclusion
Dark matter remains one of the biggest unsolved problems in science. We still do not know what it is, but new ideas are constantly reshaping our understanding.
This research suggests that the answer might not lie in unknown particles, but in something much more familiar—black holes from the early Universe.
If future studies confirm this idea, it could completely change how we understand both dark matter and the evolution of the Universe.
For now, it remains an exciting possibility: the Universe’s missing mass might be made of tiny, ancient black holes quietly surviving since the beginning of time.
Reference: Du, JR., Zhang, ZZ. & Li, N. Memory burden effect of regular primordial black holes. Eur. Phys. J. C 86, 539 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-026-15790-1

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