Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 051101 (2008) [4 pages]

Dark Matter and the First Stars: A New Phase of Stellar Evolution

Abstract

References

Citing Articles (61)

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Douglas Spolyar^1,*, Katherine Freese^2,3,†, and Paolo Gondolo^4,‡
¹Physics Dept., University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
²Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
³Visiting Miller Professor, Miller Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
⁴Physics Dept., University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA

Received 4 May 2007; published 4 February 2008

A mechanism is identified whereby dark matter (DM) in protostellar halos dramatically alters the current theoretical framework for the formation of the first stars. Heat from neutralino DM annihilation is shown to overwhelm any cooling mechanism, consequently impeding the star formation process and possibly leading to a new stellar phase. A “dark star” may result: a giant (≳1 AU) hydrogen-helium star powered by DM annihilation instead of nuclear fusion. Observational consequences are discussed.

URL:

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.051101

DOI:

10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.051101

PACS:

97.10.Bt, 95.35.+d, 98.80.Cq

^*dspolyar@physics.ucsc.edu

^†ktfreese@umich.edu

^‡paolo@physics.utah.edu

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 051101 (2008) [4 pages]

Dark Matter and the First Stars: A New Phase of Stellar Evolution