Determining the spin of light primordial black holes with Hawking radiation. Part II. High spin regime

Abstract

Abstract We propose a method to determine the mass and spin of primordial black holes based on measuring the energy and emission rate at the dipolar and quadrupolar peaks in the primary photon Hawking spectrum, applicable for dimensionless spin parameters $$ \overset{\sim }{a} $$ a ~ ≳ 0.6. In particular, we show that the ratio between the energies of the two peaks is only a function of the black hole spin, while the ratio between their emission rates depends also on the line-of-sight inclination. The black hole mass and distance from the Earth may then be inferred from the absolute values of the peak energies and emission rates. This method is relevant for primordial black holes born with large spin parameters that are presently still in the early stages of their evaporation process. While Hawking radiation from such black holes is somewhat below the reach of planned gamma-ray telescopes, we expect the required sensitivity to be attained in the not too distant future.