The James Webb Space Telescope has for the first time detected three bright objects which are thought to be dark stars (Dark Stars) formed from dark matter (Dark Matter). Photo/NewAtlas
WASHINGTON – The James Webb Space Telescope for the first time detecting three bright objects that are thought to be dark stars (Dark Stars) formed from dark matter (Dark Matter). Dark star is a hypothetical object that doesn’t shine like a normal star, but rather generates heat from dark matter particles annihilating each other in its core.
If there were, the dark star would be far more massive than an ordinary star, containing the mass of 10 million Suns and emitting 10 billion brightness. Dark stars are also 10,000 times wider, meaning that if the Sun were a dark star, it would fill the entire solar system, with its outer surface located near the orbit of Pluto.
Astronomers in the new study identified three first dark star candidates in the James Webb Telescope data. Three bright bodies, named JADES-GS-z13-0, JADES-GS-z12-0, and JADES-GS-z11-0, were discovered by Webb in December 2022 and are considered to be galaxies.
However, spectroscopic analysis shows that they have some of the properties expected of dark stars. Of course, as interesting as the idea is, the research is highly speculative.
“But if some objects that look like early galaxies are actually dark stars, the simulation of galaxy formation fits the observations better,” said Katherine Freese, co-author of the study.
Models suggest that dark stars may have existed in the early universe, and may actually help explain the mystery of why there were so many large galaxies in the early universe. Once the dark matter “fuel” in its core is used up, the ordinary matter that makes up most stars collapses into a black hole, potentially providing the seeds for supermassive black holes.
This could speed up the process of galaxy formation. Other “too early” galaxies might just be dark stars themselves, as they would look similar from this distance. This research is published in the journal PNAS.
We not only don’t know if dark stars exist, but we also don’t fully know if dark matter exists to power them. Even so, dark matter must exist in some of the proposed forms.
Thankfully, like any good hypothesis, these dark stars can be tested. Future observations from Webb could investigate certain properties, including the dimming or excess of light intensity in certain frequency bands, that could help identify these objects.
(wib)
2023-07-17 16:45:51
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