Overview
- The KM3NeT Collaboration reported an ultra‑high‑energy neutrino in 2023 at levels far beyond known astrophysical or terrestrial sources.
- IceCube did not register that event and has not recorded anything near its energy, highlighting a discrepancy between major neutrino observatories.
- UMass Amherst researchers outline a model of quasi‑extremal primordial black holes carrying a dark‑sector charge, including a heavy “dark electron,” to explain the event and reconcile the datasets.
- The proposed explosions would emit Hawking radiation, offering a potential observational test of Hawking’s prediction and a candidate pathway to account for dark matter.
- Although peer‑reviewed, the hypothesis remains provisional, with the authors noting prior estimates of roughly decadal explosion rates that could enable near‑term observational tests.