Cosmologists have limited knowledge about dark matter, and much of it is speculative. As a matter of fact, the nature of dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics. Researchers believe that supersymmetry, if proven to be valid, could help in understanding dark matter, which is inferred to exist based on its gravitational effects in the universe. However, dark matter doesn’t emit radiation, making it challenging for physicists to detect.
It’s worth noting that supersymmetry is a theoretical model in particle physics that suggests the existence of hypothetical particles corresponding to known fundamental particles. It aims to explain the relationship between bosons (which have spin in integer values) and fermions (which have half-integer spin). For now, it’s just a hypothetical and theoretical framework, considering it hasn’t been observed in nature or experiments.
Dark Matter and Its Link to Supermassive Black Holes
Astrophysicists have good reason to suspect that the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies play a key role in the formation and evolution of those galaxies. However, they recently discovered indications that dark matter may also be involved in the formation of these black holes. If this hypothesis is confirmed, it’ll have significant implications.
Over the past few years, the James Webb Space Telescope has identified supermassive black holes that are almost as old as the universe.
Cosmologists believe that the giant black holes in galactic centers form from much smaller black holes that accumulate stars, gas, and even merge with other black holes over billions of years. This lengthy process is necessary for supermassive black holes to reach their enormous size. While this idea is well-founded, astrophysicists have now identified an inconsistency.
In recent years, the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered supermassive black holes that are almost as old as the universe itself. This finding has led scientists to propose a hypothesis about the unique origin of these ancient objects. In a study published in the journal Physical Review Letters, Alexander Kusenko, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, and his team conclude that dark matter played a crucial role in the formation of these primordial supermassive black holes.
The study suggests that in the early universe, the presence of dark matter hindered the cooling of hydrogen, preventing the formation of dense clouds necessary for star formation. Instead, the team proposes that a massive, hot cloud of gas and dust could have collapsed to form a supermassive black hole without the need to first pass through the star formation stage. While this idea seems plausible, it faces a challenge: Gas tends to cool rapidly, making it more likely that numerous smaller gas clouds would form rather than a single massive cloud.
“How quickly the gas cools has a lot to do with the amount of molecular hydrogen. Hydrogen atoms bonded together in a molecule dissipate energy when they encounter a loose hydrogen atom. The hydrogen molecules become cooling agents as they absorb thermal energy and radiate it away,” study co-author Yifan Lu told Phys.org.
While scientists don’t completely understand the role of dark matter in the formation of early supermassive black holes yet, it’s promising that astrophysicists have viable hypotheses. Hopefully, in the future, the James Webb Space Telescope or another instrument will validate one of their theories.
Image | NASA
View 0 comments