Study: Dark matter could destroy planets like Jupiter from within
There are various models of what dark matter consists of. One would have the consequence that it could literally eat up giant planets like Jupiter.
Jupiter with the Great Red Spot
(Image: NASA/STSCI (S.T.A.R.S))
Under certain circumstances, the mysterious dark matter could accumulate in particularly large planets, collapse into a black hole and eventually consume the entire celestial body. At least that is the opinion of a researcher at the University of California. Should such a black hole with the mass of a gas giant like Jupiter actually be discovered, it would be a major breakthrough, says Mehrdad Phoroutan-Mehr, one of the two researchers. On the one hand, this would contribute enormously to our understanding of dark matter, and on the other hand, it would also prove that such small black holes can actually continue to form. If such objects are not found, this would also be a gain in knowledge.
A path to small black holes
As the two explain, they based their work on a model of dark matter, according to which it consists of particularly heavy particles that do not destroy each other. Because dark matter has still not been proven experimentally, it is unclear exactly what it consists of and there are various models for it. If the model that has now been analyzed is correct, then dark matter would accumulate in large gas planets and eventually form black holes, Phoroutan-Mehr summarizes the results of the study. This would have to happen in observable periods of time, possibly even in such a way that several black holes would form in the lifetime of an exoplanet. The result would be a small black hole orbiting a star.
The work, which has now been published in the journal Physical Review D, paves the way for the use of exoplanets in research into dark matter. Phoroutan-Mehr explains that so far only different types of stars have been used for this purpose. For example, some models of dark matter suggest that it could heat neutron stars. If old and cold examples of these celestial bodies are found, certain properties of dark matter can be ruled out. If a population of black holes with the mass of planets were to be discovered, this would be a strong indication that the model of very heavy, non-destructive dark matter is correct.
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The physicist only hints at how exactly these comparatively small black holes could be detected. The probability of finding them would be particularly high where a lot of dark matter is suspected. This is the case in the center of our Milky Way, for example. So far, only black holes that are at least a multiple of the mass of our sun have been discovered; those the size of planets would be drastically smaller. Phoroutan-Mehr also points out that dark matter could also heat exoplanets and planets in our solar system . This might be detectable with technology that is not so far away, he says.
(mho)
