Primordial Black Hole Dark Matter Simulations Using PopSyCLE

Kerianne Pruett  ✧  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA, USA

Primordial black holes (PBHs), theorized to have originated in the early universe, are speculated to be a viable source of dark matter in our universe, and should be detectable via gravitational microlensing signals from local stars in the Milky Way. The Population Synthesis Code for Compact Object Microlensing Events (PopSyCLE) allows users to simulate microlensing surveys with both photometric and astrometric microlensing effects, making it a powerful tool for gaining insight into future PBH detection estimates. We first detail our addition of a PBH population model into PopSyCLE and compare our simulations with OGLE-IV results as a proof of concept. Then, we compare the resulting PBH parameter distributions to those of stellar evolved black holes, and estimate the order of detectable PBH microlensing events we expect from the planned Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope microlensing survey.