Stupendously Large Primordial Black Holes from the QCD axion

Abstract: The inflationary diffusion of (pseudo-)scalar fields with discrete symmetries can seed the formation of a gas of closed domain walls after inflation, when the distance between degenerate minima in field space is not too far from the inflationary Hubble scale. Primordial black holes (PBHs) can then be formed once sufficiently heavy domain walls re-enter the Hubble sphere. In this scenario, inflation determines a distinctive PBH mass distribution that is rather flat and can thus lead to a sizable total abundance of PBHs, while avoiding some of the downsides of PBH formation from critical collapse. We show that generic QCD axion models, with decay constant close to the inflationary Hubble scale, can yield up to $1\%$ of the dark matter (DM) today in the form of PBHs, while being compatible with isocurvature constraints from Cosmic Microwave Background observations. This occurs for values of axion decay constants around $f_a\simeq 10^{8}~\text{GeV}$, that is the region targeted by axion helioscopes and partially constrained by astrophysical observations. The resulting PBHs have \textit{stupendously} large masses, above $10^{11}M_\odot$, and their existence can be probed by Large Scale Structure observations. Larger PBH abundances can be generated by axion-like particles. Alternatively, in scenarios where isocurvature constraints can be relaxed, we find that the totality of the DM can be produced by the QCD axion misalignment mechanism, accompanied by a ${\cal O}(10^{-3})$ DM fraction in PBHs of masses $(10^5-10^6)~M_\odot$. These can act as seeds for the formation of massive black holes at large redshifts, as suggested by recent JWST observations.