Physicists propose primordial black holes may reveal a fifth dimension

Physicists from Lehman College have proposed a theory suggesting that primordial black holes, formed shortly after the Big Bang, may provide evidence for a hidden fifth dimension. Published in the journal Physical Review D, the research suggests these minuscule black holes could possess gravitational properties that extend into a ‘dark dimension’ beyond our observable four-dimensional spacetime.

In this theoretical framework, our universe is viewed as a four-dimensional ‘brane’ embedded within a larger five-dimensional ‘bulk’. The researchers suggest this extra dimension might be extremely small, measuring approximately one micron across.

If these primordial black holes exist, they could theoretically persist for the 13.8 billion-year age of the cosmos. The study also notes that this theory might explain an energetic ‘ghost particle’ detected by the KM3NeT neutrino detector in the Mediterranean Sea in 2023.