In this episode of Theories of Everything, MIT physicist and historian David Kaiser explores primordial black holes which are hypothetical entities that may have formed before stars or atoms. David discusses their potential role in explaining dark matter, their connections to cosmic inflation, and how they might reshape our understanding of the early universe. This conversation connects the realms of quantum theory, cosmology, and the history of physics.
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Links Mentioned:
• David Kaiser's published papers: https://arxiv.org/a/kaiser_d_1.html
• Bell, J. S. “On the Einstein‐Podolsky‐Rosen paradox” (1964): https://cds.cern.ch/record/111654/files/vol1p195-200_001.pdf
• “Ultra-High-Energy Neutrinos from Primordial Black Holes” (2025): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2503.19227
• “Cosmic Bell Test Using Random Measurement Settings from High-Redshift Quasars” (2018): https://arxiv.org/pdf/1808.05966
• “Close Encounters of the Primordial Kind” (2023): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.17217
• “Primordial Black Holes from Multifield Inflation with Non-minimal Couplings” (2022): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2205.04471
• “Testing Bell’s Inequality with Cosmic Photons” (2013): https://arxiv.org/pdf/1310.3288
• “Planck Constraints & Gravitational-Wave Forecasts for PBH Dark Matter Seeded by Multifield Inflation” (2023): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2303.02168
• “Light Scalar Fields Foster Production of Primordial Black Holes” (2025): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2504.13251
• “Debye Screening of Non-Abelian Plasmas in Curved Spacetimes” (2023): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2309.15385
• “Primordial Black Holes with QCD Color Charge” (2023): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2310.16877
• A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553380168
• In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat – John Gribbin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553342533
• How the Hippies Saved Physics – David Kaiser: https://www.amazon.com/dp/039334231X
• Drawing Theories Apart – David Kaiser: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Y5W2X2
Timestamps:
00:00 – What Are Primordial Black Holes?
01:41 – Could They Be Dark Matter?
05:21 – Kaiser’s Academic Journey
10:56 – Studying Physics and Its History
11:57 – Cosmic Inflation Basics
15:31 – Direct Collapse vs. Stellar Collapse
25:14 – Bell’s Theorem Explained
38:32 – Quasars and the Cosmic Bell Test
43:04 – High-Precision Astronomy
47:38 – Learning Curves & Interdisciplinary Research
48:17 – Scalar Fields and Inflation Models
55:05 – Black Hole Formation from Inflation
58:41 – Black Hole Mass as a Cosmic Clock
1:02:50 – Quark-Gluon Plasma & Color Charge
1:08:46 – Critical Collapse and Mass Spread
1:11:34 – Charged Primordial Black Holes
1:13:54 – Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Implications
1:20:14 – Detecting Black Holes Locally
1:23:51 – Tracking Planetary Wobbles
1:26:04 – Hawking Radiation & Positron Signatures
1:30:06 – Why Track Mars, Not Earth?
#science
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