- Accepted Paper
Impact of heavy modes on primordial black hole formation
Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 4 November, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/p2q5-4qny
Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 4 November, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/p2q5-4qny
Primordial black holes (PBHs) form from rare fluctuations in the high-density tail of the primordial distribution, making their abundance highly sensitive to primordial non-Gaussianity. Heavy fields during inflation can source such non-Gaussianity, producing characteristic signatures widely explored in cosmological collider physics, yet its impact on PBH formation remains largely unexamined. We investigate this question within quasisingle-field inflation (QSFI), the minimal realization that couples a heavy field to the inflaton. Unlike most PBH studies that consider only the bispectrum, the QSFI can generate a sizable trispectrum alongside the bispectrum, allowing us to investigate their combined effects on PBH formation. In our leading-order calculation, heavy-field non-Gaussianities can amplify the high-density tail and substantially enhance PBH production. Within the parameter scan, the largest enhancement occurs at the smallest heavy-field mass and the largest sound-speed ratio considered. The trispectrum contribution can be comparable to that of the bispectrum and may even dominate the total non-Gaussian correction. Our results establish PBH abundance as a novel observational channel for cosmological collider physics, demonstrating how heavy fields during inflation can significantly shape PBH formation.
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