Signals of Bursts from the Very Early Universe

Abstract

We consider possible observable signals from explosive events in the very early Universe, dubbed “bursts.” These could be expected in connection with massive black hole or “baby Universe” formation. We anticipate that such major disruptions of spacetime would be associated with neutrino and perhaps other pulses. While these seem to be not detectable directly, we discuss how they could lead to potentially observable signals. We analyze how the pulses from very early times may “escape,” that is, propagate to the last scattering epoch at the time tcmb and later, or alternatively be absorbed earlier, i.e., “contained.” The possibly detectable signals include effects on small regions of the cosmic microwave background, a soft X-ray resulting from positron production, or a nonthermal addition to the relic neutrino background.