Could Dark Matter Form Planets and Stars?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the possibility of dark matter forming planets and stars, exploring theoretical implications and interactions with ordinary matter. Participants engage in speculative reasoning about the nature of dark matter and its gravitational effects.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that dark matter, being immune to electromagnetic forces, could only interact through gravity, leading to the idea that it might form dense clumps or "Dark Stars" if it can gravitate to itself.
  • Another participant proposes that if dark matter particles are fermions, they could exhibit a form of degeneracy pressure that might prevent collapse into black holes until a certain mass is reached.
  • A different viewpoint introduces the neutralino as a candidate for dark matter, noting its properties as a supersymmetric particle that could annihilate itself.
  • One participant argues that if dark matter were to form a tight sphere, it would likely draw in ordinary matter, suggesting that pure dark stars or holes may not exist and that dark matter could contribute significantly to the mass of black holes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various hypotheses about dark matter's properties and potential to form celestial bodies, but there is no consensus on whether dark matter can form stars or planets, or the implications of its interactions with ordinary matter.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge uncertainties regarding the nature of dark matter, including its particle characteristics and the conditions under which it might clump together. There are also references to the prevalence of dark matter compared to ordinary matter, which may influence its behavior in astrophysical contexts.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in theoretical astrophysics, cosmology, and the nature of dark matter may find this discussion relevant.

sanman
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Since Dark Matter is by definition immune to electromagnetic forces, then it has no other way to interact except through gravity -- unless one wants to come up with some entirely new force, which has never been seen.

If Dark Matter did have some force of its own, akin to electromagnetism, that would allow it to clump together, then what would happen is that you'd have these super-large clumps (Dark Matter Planets, etc) which would be floating around, showing off their gravitational effects in very concentrated ways.

But planets and stars are held together by gravity, and not electromagnetism. So if Dark Matter can gravitate to itself, then couldn't it form Dark Stars?
A Dark Star would generate no light, of course. But if it had no force similar to electromagnetism to push apart from itself, then it would all just concentrate into one single dense point -- like a black hole.

So it would seem that Dark Matter would be more likely than regular matter to form black holes, right? That's what I can infer from all of this.
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
Well, if dark matter particles (whatever they may be) are fermions, then there would be something akin to electron degeneracy pressure inside a dark matter star (should such a beast exist) that would prevent said star collapsing until there was enough mass to produce a gravitational force to overcome this. Therefore there would be something to prevent collapse. I don't actually know if dark matter is posited to be fermionic however.

I can't really comment on anything else, other than speculation, as i am not as knowledgeable hear as i would like to (or infact used to be, as a astrophysics turned physical chemistry student). Interesting though.
 
One strong candidate for dark matter is the neutralino which is supersymmetric and it's own anti-particle meaning it would annihilate if it came into close proximity with it-self.
 
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20081106/sc_space/mysteriousdarkmattermightactuallyglow

If Dark Matter started forming into a tight sphere, then ordinary matter would also be drawn in, so it is not likely that there should be pure Dark Stars or Dark Holes. DM is about five times as prevalent in the universe as ordinary matter, so I suppose you could infer that most of the mass in black holes is from DM, too.
 
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