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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Primordial Black Holes May Have Grown by Absorbing Neutrinos

Black holes are some of the most mysterious objects in the Universe. Most black holes form when massive stars die and collapse under their own gravity. But scientists believe another type of black hole may have formed much earlier—just moments after the Big Bang. These are called primordial black holes (PBHs).

For many years, scientists believed that primordial black holes could not grow much during the early stages of the Universe. But a new study by physicist Mael Gonin suggests that this idea may not be completely correct. The research shows that these ancient black holes may have become much larger by absorbing tiny particles called neutrinos.

If this new idea is confirmed, it could change what we know about black holes, dark matter, and even some mysterious objects recently discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

What Are Primordial Black Holes?

Primordial black holes are very different from the black holes we usually hear about.

Normal black holes form when huge stars run out of fuel and collapse. But primordial black holes may have formed less than one second after the Big Bang, when the Universe was extremely hot, dense, and filled with energy.

At that time, some regions of space may have been slightly denser than others. These dense regions could have collapsed under their own gravity, creating black holes of many different sizes.

Scientists are very interested in primordial black holes because they could help explain one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy—dark matter. Dark matter cannot be seen directly, but its gravity affects galaxies and the structure of the Universe. Some researchers think that at least part of dark matter could be made of primordial black holes.

Why Did Scientists Think They Couldn't Grow?

For more than 50 years, the common belief was that primordial black holes stayed almost the same size after they formed.

This idea came from research by scientists Stephen Hawking and Bernard Carr in the 1970s.

The early Universe was filled with hot radiation that behaved like a thick fluid. Hawking and Carr argued that this radiation could not easily fall into black holes. As a result, primordial black holes would not collect enough material to grow significantly.

Because of this, most scientific studies assumed that the mass of primordial black holes remained almost unchanged throughout the radiation-filled era of the early Universe.

A New Study Challenges This Idea

Mael Gonin decided to take another look at this old assumption.

Instead of treating the early Universe only as a hot fluid, he studied how individual particles moved through the hot plasma. This gave a much more detailed picture of what was happening shortly after the Big Bang.

The study used a semi-classical model, which combines ideas from classical physics and quantum physics. In this model, black holes behave like perfect absorbers of radiation.

The results showed something surprising.

During certain periods of the early Universe, primordial black holes may have been able to absorb neutrinos, allowing them to gain mass over time.

What Are Neutrinos?

Neutrinos are extremely tiny particles that are often called "ghost particles."

They have almost no mass and interact very weakly with matter. Every second, trillions of neutrinos pass through your body without you noticing anything.

Neutrinos were also produced in huge numbers during the Big Bang. The early Universe was filled with them.

Although neutrinos rarely interact with normal matter, the new research suggests that primordial black holes could capture some of these particles under the right conditions.

As the black holes absorbed neutrinos, they slowly became heavier.

Which Black Holes Grow the Most?

The study found that not all primordial black holes grow in the same way.

The biggest growth happens for black holes with masses between about 1,000 and 10 million times the mass of our Sun.

These are known as intermediate-mass and supermassive primordial black holes.

The amount of growth also depends on something called the collapse fraction. This value describes how much material originally collapsed to form the black holes.

Different collapse fractions lead to different amounts of growth, but in many cases the increase in mass is large enough to change previous predictions.

Changing the Black Hole Population

Scientists often predict how many primordial black holes should exist at different masses. This prediction is called the mass spectrum.

Earlier models suggested that certain black hole sizes should be more common because of the changing temperature of the early Universe.

However, Gonin's research shows that neutrino absorption changes these predictions.

Some expected peaks in the mass spectrum move to different masses. The study also suggests that a completely new peak could appear among intermediate-mass black holes.

If future telescopes detect this pattern, it would strongly support the new theory.

What Does This Mean for Dark Matter?

Dark matter is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in science.

It makes up about 85% of all matter in the Universe, but scientists still do not know exactly what it is.

Primordial black holes are one possible explanation.

Scientists measure the amount of dark matter made of primordial black holes using a value called fPBH.

Because the new study shows that primordial black holes can gain mass over time, this value also changes.

This means there could be more dark matter stored in primordial black holes than scientists previously believed.

As a result, many older studies about dark matter may need to be updated.

Could This Explain JWST's Mysterious Objects?

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered many strange objects in the early Universe.

Among the most interesting are tiny, bright galaxies known as "Little Red Dots."

Astronomers are still trying to understand what these objects really are.

One possibility is that they contain rapidly growing primordial black holes.

According to the new study, neutrino absorption could help small primordial black holes grow much faster than expected.

This would make it easier to explain how massive black holes appeared so early in the history of the Universe.

Although this idea has not yet been proven, it is an exciting possibility that future observations can test.

A New Way to Study the Early Universe

Primordial black holes are more than just mysterious objects.

They could act like time capsules from the earliest moments of the Universe.

If scientists understand how these black holes formed and grew, they can learn more about conditions just after the Big Bang.

The new research suggests that the early Universe may have been more active than previously thought, with neutrinos playing an important role in black hole growth.

This gives scientists a completely new way to study the birth and evolution of the Universe.

What Happens Next?

The study is only the beginning.

The current model focuses on neutrino absorption but does not include every process that happened in the early Universe. Future research will study other particles and effects that could also influence black hole growth.

Astronomers will also search for evidence using telescopes, gravitational wave detectors, and future space missions.

If these observations match the predictions of the new study, scientists may have to rewrite one of the oldest ideas about primordial black holes.

For decades, researchers believed these ancient black holes stayed almost the same size after they formed. But according to this new research, they may have quietly grown by absorbing countless neutrinos in the hot, young Universe.

If this theory is correct, it could change our understanding of black holes, dark matter, and the earliest moments of cosmic history, bringing us one step closer to solving some of the biggest mysteries of the Universe.

Reference: Maël Gonin, "Primordial Black Hole mass growth from neutrinos during radiation era", Arxiv, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.09285


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