Discovery in Mediterranean could prove Stephen Hawking’s black hole theory
A swirling black hole in deep space, representing the theoretical process of black hole evaporation and Hawking radiation. (Adobe Stock Photo)
Researchers have detected the most energetic neutrino ever recorded on Earth.
The discovery, made by the KM3NeT observatory in the Mediterranean Sea, has raised questions about its origin.
Some scientists now suggest it could be the result of an evaporating black hole, potentially providing evidence for one of Stephen Hawking’s long-standing theories.
Scientists detect most energetic neutrino, question its origin
The KM3NeT collaboration, which operates underwater detectors off the coasts of France, Italy, and Greece, announced in February 2025 that it had observed a neutrino with an energy of around 100 Petaelectronvolts (PeV).
This is more than 25 times the energy of particles accelerated in the Large Hadron Collider, making it one of the most powerful subatomic particles ever detected. Another neutrino, detected in 2023 by KM3NeT’s ARCA detector off the coast of Sicily, was even more energetic, measuring 220 quadrillion electron volts.
Physicists have debated possible explanations for these high-energy neutrinos. Some suggest they come from cosmic rays, supernovae, or even interactions with the cosmic microwave background. However, a recent hypothesis proposes an alternative source: an exploding black hole.
Connection between Hawking radiation and high-energy neutrino
Stephen Hawking proposed in the 1970s that black holes emit radiation over time, a process now known as Hawking radiation.
According to his theory, smaller black holes evaporate more quickly, eventually exploding in a burst of energy. If the KM3NeT neutrino was produced by such an explosion, it could be the first observed evidence of this phenomenon.
Theoretical models suggest that the black hole responsible for this event would have had a mass of about 10,000 kilograms—roughly the weight of two African elephants—while being smaller than an atom.
Such black holes could have formed during the Big Bang as “primordial black holes.” While most would have evaporated long ago, some may have survived due to a quantum effect called “memory burden.” This mechanism could allow certain black holes to persist for billions of years before finally disintegrating.
Possible connection between primordial black holes, dark matter
If this hypothesis is correct, it could reshape our understanding of dark matter. Some researchers have theorized that primordial black holes could account for the invisible substance that makes up most of the universe’s mass. However, searches for these black holes have so far been unsuccessful. If they are responsible for the neutrino detected by KM3NeT, they may be more common than previously thought.
Researchers estimate that if such black holes exist in significant numbers, similar neutrino events should be detected in the coming years. “KM3NeT has begun to probe a range of energy and sensitivity where detected neutrinos may originate from extreme astrophysical phenomena,” said Paschal Coyle, a researcher at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France.
Further observations will be needed to confirm whether these neutrinos originate from primordial black holes or another unknown cosmic accelerator. Scientists continue to expand KM3NeT, aiming to detect more high-energy neutrinos and uncover the processes that produce them.
If additional detections align with this theory, it could lead to new discoveries in astrophysics, providing deeper insight into the origins of black holes, dark matter, and the high-energy universe.
