Upper limits on the size of a primordial black hole

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We provide precise constraints on the size of any black holes forming in the early Universe for a variety of formation scenarios. In particular, we prove that the size of the apparent horizon of a primordial black hole formed by causal processes in a flat Friedmann universe is considerably smaller than the cosmological apparent horizon size for an equation of state $p=kρ$ ($1/3<k<1$). This also applies for a stiff equation of state ($k=1$) or for a massless scalar field. The apparent horizon of a primordial black hole formed through hydrodynamical processes is also considerably smaller than the cosmological apparent horizon for $0<k\le 1$. We derive an expression for the maximum size which an overdense region can have without being a separate closed universe rather than part of our own. Newtonian argument shows that a black hole smaller than the cosmological horizon can never accrete much.
15 pages, accepted for publication in Physical Review D

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