Preprint
Article

This version is not peer-reviewed.

Cosmological Bounce Relics: Black Holes, Gravitational Waves, and Dark Matter

Submitted:

30 January 2026

Posted:

06 February 2026

You are already at the latest version

Abstract
We propose a new mechanism for generating cosmological relics—black holes, gravitational waves (GWs), and possibly dark matter (DM)—in a bouncing Universe. Relics arise through two channels: (i) compact objects and GWs produced during pre-bounce collapse that remain super-horizon and re-enter after the bounce, and (ii) dark-matter halos formed during collapse that exit the horizon and collapse into black holes upon re-entry. Unlike inflationary primordial black holes, these relic black holes originate from nonlinear structure formation during collapse. We derive the particle-horizon and horizon-crossing conditions in bouncing cosmology and show that perturbations or compact objects larger than \( \sim 90 \) m survive the bounce. The resulting population of relic black holes and GWs spans a wide mass range, offering a unified origin for dark matter, gravitational-wave backgrounds, and the early growth of supermassive black holes and galaxies.
Keywords: 
;  ;  ;  
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
Prerpints.org logo

Preprints.org is a free preprint server supported by MDPI in Basel, Switzerland.

Subscribe

Disclaimer

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Privacy Settings

© 2026 MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) unless otherwise stated