exotic matter
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These Violent Collisions Could Be Producing Dark Matter
A collision of two extraordinarily dense, collapsed stars in the distant universe is providing potential clues to the axion, a dark matter candidate first proposed half a century ago. The stellar remnants are neutron stars, the corpses that remain after massive stars collapse in on themselves. These dead stars are so dense that their electrons…
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Scientists Propose Webb Telescope Has Detected Stars Powered by Dark Matter
Astronomers looking at ancient light seen by the Webb Space Telescope have found three pinpricks that they think could be “dark stars,” theoretical objects powered by dark matter. Dark matter makes up about 27% of the universe; its partner in ambiguity, dark energy, makes up about 68%. You can do the math: we know stunningly…
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This Earth-Sized Star Rotates Once Every 25 Seconds
Astronomers announced this week the discovery of the fastest-rotating white dwarf star on record, with a spin rate of once every 25 seconds. The star is about the size of Earth but, by the team’s measurements, contains least 200,000 times more mass, making the dense little object a spinning freak of nature.
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Neutron Stars Have Mountains That Are Less Than a Millimetre Tall
A team of astrophysicists recently used new models of neutron stars to map the mountains — tiny raised areas — on the stars’ otherwise perfectly spherical structures. They found that the greatest deviations were still extraordinarily small due to the intense gravitational pull, clocking in at less than a millimetre tall.