By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-11 09:56:03 | Updated at 2026-10-11 10:49:31
56 minutes ago
Physicists from Lehman College have put forward a remarkable theory suggesting primordial black holes from the early universe might provide evidence for a concealed fifth dimension existing beyond our observable cosmos.
The researchers published their findings in the journal Physical Review D, proposing these minuscule black holes, created in the moments following the Big Bang, possess gravitational forces that could extend into what they term a "dark dimension".
Their calculations indicate if such a fifth dimension exists, any primordial black holes would possess five-dimensional properties rather than the four-dimensional characteristics of ordinary black holes. These exotic objects could theoretically persist in our universe today, having lifespans matching the 13.8 billion-year age of the cosmos.
Researchers have even suggested their theory might account for an exceptionally energetic "ghost particle" recorded by the KM3NeT neutrino detector beneath the Mediterranean Sea in 2023.
Beyond the conventional dimensions of height, width, depth, and time that define our everyday experience, theoretical physicists propose the existence of an additional spatial dimension hidden from direct observation.
To illustrate this concept, the research team offers an analogy: consider a figure sketched onto a flat page. From that character's perspective, only three dimensions exist – length, width, and temporal progression. Unable to lift themselves from the paper's surface, they would find the notion of height incomprehensible.
Similarly, our universe may function as a four-dimensional sheet, or "brane" in scientific terminology, embedded within a larger five-dimensional space known as the "bulk".
This extra dimension measures just one micron across within our four-dimensional framework – roughly one-tenth the width of a red blood cell. Whilst no direct evidence confirms this 'dark dimension' exists, numerous theoretical frameworks addressing electromagnetism and gravity demonstrate improved mathematical consistency when incorporating a fifth dimension.
The real intrigue begins when considering how exceptionally compact yet gravitationally powerful objects, such as primordial black holes, might interact with such an additional dimensional plane.
Conventional black holes emerge when massive stars, ranging from tens to hundreds of solar masses, exhaust their nuclear fuel and undergo gravitational collapse, producing an ultra-dense remnant.
Primordial black holes, by contrast, originated through an entirely different mechanism. Scientists theorise these objects emerged directly from the turbulent, rapidly cooling material that comprised the nascent universe mere fractions of a second after the Big Bang – well before any stars had formed.
These ancient objects span an enormous mass range. The smallest could weigh 100,000 times less than a paperclip, whilst the largest might exceed our sun's mass.
Despite remaining undetected through direct observation, primordial black holes represent one potential explanation for dark matter – the enigmatic substance constituting 27 per cent of the universe's total mass-energy content.
Their hypothetical formation from overdense regions in the early cosmos positions them as crucial candidates for understanding the universe's missing matter.
The Lehman College team examined two distinct scenarios for primordial black hole formation within a five-dimensional framework.
Under the first hypothesis, these objects arose from regions of exceptionally dense matter in the early universe that underwent gravitational collapse as cosmic temperatures declined. The researchers' calculations revealed whilst such black holes would initially exhibit four-dimensional behaviour, their diminutive size would render this configuration unstable, forcing them to transition into five-dimensional entities.
The second formation pathway involves cosmic strings – theoretical one-dimensional defects in the spacetime fabric created during phase transitions in the cooling early universe, analogous to cracks forming in freezing water. When loops of these cosmic strings converged, they could collapse directly into black holes before any stellar structures emerged.
According to the team's mathematical analysis, primordial black holes originating from cosmic strings would be five-dimensional from the start.
Consequently, should a dark dimension genuinely exist, all primordial black holes would necessarily maintain five-dimensional properties due to their extraordinarily small scale.
Although five-dimensional black holes may seem entirely theoretical, the research team emphasises this hypothesis yields testable predictions about observable phenomena.
Crucially, black holes possessing five-dimensional properties would undergo evaporation at a markedly slower rate compared to their four-dimensional counterparts. The researchers' calculations suggest primordial black holes formed through cosmic string collapse could endure for timescales equivalent to the universe's entire 13.8 billion-year history.
This extended lifespan means such objects might remain present in our vicinity at this moment, eventually disappearing in bursts of particles when they finally evaporate.
The scientists have proposed their model could potentially account for the highly energetic neutrino detected by the KM3NeT apparatus positioned deep beneath Mediterranean waters in 2023. The evaporation of a five-dimensional primordial black hole might release such powerful particles from an apparently empty region of space.
However, the researchers acknowledge this particular interpretation extends considerably beyond what current observational capabilities can verify definitively.
