Can stars near the center of the Milky Way survive forever thanks to the energy of dark matter? A new hypothesis has been put forward by astronomers, based on observations of strange light sources.
Can stars near the center of the Milky Way survive forever thanks to the energy of dark matter? A new hypothesis has been put forward by astronomers, based on observations of strange light sources.
Scientists have long believed that all stars will eventually die out. However, a recent study of the S-cluster, located just three light-years from the center of the Milky Way, suggests the opposite. Cluster nThey are much younger than other stars in the same area, and they are not the same as the stars who migrated here after the in other places.
What is even more surprising is that this region contains a number of unusually massive stars, while the number of old stars is less than expected. The team, led by astrophysicist Isabelle John of the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics, suggests that these strange stars may be absorbs dark matter and uses it as fuel to keep working.
“The star formation model shows that stars cannot form within 0.326 light-years of the central black hole, where the S-cluster stars are found,” the team wrote. “Instead, the stars had to form elsewhere and move toward the Scorching Center N Ha. In contrast, observations suggest that the stars in this region are young [less than or approximately 15 million years old], This suggests that the stars may have formed more locally.”
Dark matter is thought to make up 27% of the universe, but so far it has not been directly observed. Astronomers can only Recognize its existence through its impact on other objects, from distant stars to galaxy clusters colossal. Although invisible, the gravitational impact of dark matter is very clear.
This new study is not the first to explore the connection between dark matter and stars. Earlier this year, another team of researchers proposed that neutron stars — extremely dense stellar remnants — could actually be the source of the In July last year, another team suggested that the Webb Telescope had discovered the stars that were supplied with the by dark matter.
The hypothesis of “immortal” stars powered by dark matter, if proven true, will revolutionize our understanding of the universe. It also raises an intriguing question: Are there any life forms out there that depend on endless energy n from dark matter?
To test their hypothesis, the team built a Hertzsprung-Russell graph of dark matter, based on the brightness and effective temperature of the stars. On this chart, stars that are thought to absorb dark matter have lower temperatures than regular stars, but have the same brightness. “The density of dark matter in these stars is constantly replenishing, helping them to survive and explain many anomalous phenomena about stars,” the research team wrote.
This research is still in its early stages and needs to be further verified by the scientific community. Scientists hope that the The next-generation telescope, with its more powerful observation capabilities, will help us better understand the mystery of dark matter and its role inof it in the universe.