Hypothetical “dark stars” are celestial objects that don’t burn through nuclear fusion like conventional stars. Instead, they get their energy from the annihilation of dark matter particles that they have gravitationally captured. 🌟
How They Work
Dark stars are thought to have existed in the early universe. Here’s how they’re theorized to function:

• Composition: They are primarily made of ordinary hydrogen and helium gas, but with a small, high-density core of dark matter. While the dark matter makes up less than 1% of the star’s total mass, its gravitational pull is crucial.
• Dark Matter Annihilation: Unlike ordinary matter, which powers fusion, dark matter particles are their own antiparticles. When two of these dark matter particles collide, they annihilate each other, releasing immense energy.
• Heating Mechanism: The energy from this annihilation process heats the surrounding gas, which generates enough outward pressure to prevent the star from collapsing and igniting nuclear fusion. This is the key difference from a normal star, which relies on gravity to crush its core until fusion begins.
• Mass and Size: Because they don’t rely on fusion, dark stars are much more diffuse and “puffy” than conventional stars. Models predict they could be hundreds of times the size of our solar system and millions of times the mass of the Sun. They’re also expected to be very bright, with a cool surface temperature of around 10,000 K.
  Why They’re Important
  The existence of dark stars could solve some enduring mysteries in astronomy, such as:
• The first stars: The standard model of star formation suggests that the first stars (known as Population III stars) would have been massive, hot, and short-lived. However, they’ve never been observed. Dark stars offer an alternative theory for the “cosmic dawn” and could have been the very first luminous objects in the universe.
• Formation of supermassive black holes: Once the dark matter fuel in a dark star runs out, the star would rapidly collapse, potentially forming a supermassive black hole without the need for multiple stellar collisions. This could explain the presence of supermassive black holes in the very early universe, which is a puzzle for current models.
• Probing dark matter: If confirmed, the observation of a dark star would provide a unique opportunity to study the properties of dark matter. The energy and types of particles released during dark matter annihilation could offer direct clues about its nature, which is currently a complete mystery.

Astronomers may have discovered a whole new type of star — mysterious “dark dwarfs” that could glow forever by feeding on dark matter, the invisible substance thought to make up most of the universe.

Born From Brown Dwarfs

Using theoretical models, the scientists suggest that dark matter could become trapped inside young stars, generating enough energy to prevent them from cooling down. This process could transform them into long-lived, stable objects known as dark dwarfs.

These exotic stars are thought to form from brown dwarfs, often described as “failed stars” because they lack the mass needed to sustain the nuclear fusion that powers most stars. Normally, brown dwarfs gradually cool and fade over time.

However, if a brown dwarf happens to exist within a dense region of dark matter, such as near the Milky Way’s center, it could capture dark matter particles. When those particles collide and annihilate one another, they release bursts of energy that keep the dark dwarf glowing — potentially forever.

The Role of WIMPs

The existence of these objects depends on dark matter being made of specific kinds of particles, known as WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles).

These are heavy particles that barely interact with ordinary matter, but could annihilate with one another inside stars, providing the energy needed to keep a dark dwarf alive.

To tell dark dwarfs apart from other faint objects like brown dwarfs, the scientists point to a unique clue: lithium.

The researchers believe dark dwarfs would still contain a rare form of lithium called lithium-7.

In normal stars, lithium-7 gets burned up quickly. So, if they find an object that looks like a brown dwarf but still has lithium-7 that’s a strong hint it’s something different.

A Window Into Dark Matter

Study co-author Dr. Djuna Croon of Durham University said, “The discovery of dark dwarfs in the galactic centre would give us a unique insight into the particle nature of dark matter.”

The team believes that telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope could already be capable of spotting dark dwarfs, especially when focusing on the centre of the galaxy.

Another approach might be to look at many similar objects and statistically determine whether some of them could be dark dwarfs.

What we know about dark matter after discovering dark stars

The discovery of hypothetical dark stars has provided a new and powerful tool for understanding dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up about 85% of the universe’s matter. Since dark stars are theorized to be powered by the annihilation of dark matter particles, they could serve as a unique laboratory to study its nature.
Probing Dark Matter’s Nature 🔬
The concept of dark stars offers several clues about the properties of dark matter:

• Evidence for Annihilation: The existence of dark stars would be strong evidence that dark matter particles are their own antiparticles, a property that allows them to annihilate when they collide. This process is a key part of many theoretical models for dark matter, such as those involving WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles).
• A New Kind of Indirect Detection: Unlike the standard indirect detection methods that look for gamma rays or other particles from dark matter annihilation in space, dark stars provide a new way to observe this process. The heat and light produced by annihilation would be trapped within the star, making it a powerful and concentrated source of energy.
• The First Structures of the Universe: Dark stars are theorized to have formed in the early universe, where dark matter densities were high. This suggests that dark matter played a crucial role not only in the gravitational scaffolding of galaxies but also in the formation of the very first luminous objects.
• Connecting to Supermassive Black Holes: When a dark star exhausts its dark matter fuel, it’s theorized to collapse and form a supermassive black hole. This could provide a compelling explanation for the existence of massive black holes in the early universe, a phenomenon that is difficult to explain with conventional stellar formation models.
  What’s Next?
  While no dark stars have been definitively confirmed, some candidate objects observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) exhibit characteristics that are consistent with dark star models. Future spectroscopic observations of these objects could confirm if their energy output is indeed from dark matter annihilation rather than nuclear fusion. Such a discovery would not only revolutionize our understanding of early cosmology but would also provide unprecedented insights into the fundamental properties of dark matter itself.

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