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Scientists’ mannequin signifies that darkish matter inside fuel giants may collapse into black holes detectable by remark.
Astronomers have recognized greater than 5,000 planets orbiting stars outdoors our photo voltaic system. These distant worlds, generally known as exoplanets, present scientists with beneficial alternatives to review how planets type and evolve, in addition to to think about whether or not life would possibly exist elsewhere within the universe.
In keeping with a brand new examine from UC Riverside, revealed in Physical Review D, exoplanets may also be useful for probing one of the most mysterious substances in the cosmos: dark matter. The research explores how dark matter, which is believed to make up about 85% of all matter in the universe, could influence massive planets similar in size to Jupiter over billions of years.
The team’s calculations indicate that dark matter particles may slowly sink into planetary interiors and build up in their cores. While dark matter has never been directly observed in experiments on Earth, scientists remain confident in its existence.
“If the dark matter particles are heavy enough and don’t annihilate, they may eventually collapse into a tiny black hole,” said paper first author Mehrdad Phoroutan-Mehr, a graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy who works with Hai-Bo Yu, a professor of physics and astronomy. “This black hole could then grow and consume the entire planet, turning it into a black hole with the same mass as the original planet. This outcome is only possible under the superheavy non-annihilating dark matter model.”
According to the superheavy non-annihilating dark matter model, dark matter particles are extremely massive and do not destroy each other when they interact. The researchers focused on this model to show how superheavy dark matter particles are captured by exoplanets, lose energy, and drift toward their cores. There, they accumulate and collapse into black holes.
Timescales and Galactic Implications
“In gaseous exoplanets of various sizes, temperatures, and densities, black holes could form on observable timescales, potentially even generating multiple black holes in a single exoplanet’s lifetime,” Phoroutan-Mehr said. “These results show how exoplanet surveys could be used to hunt for superheavy dark matter particles, especially in regions hypothesized to be rich in dark matter like our Milky Way’s galactic center.”
Phoroutan-Mehr was joined in the study by Tara Fetherolf, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
Phoroutan-Mehr explained that, so far, astronomers have only detected black holes with masses greater than our sun. He said most existing theories suggest that black holes must be at least that massive.
“Discovering a black hole with the mass of a planet would be a major breakthrough,” he added. “It would support the thesis of our paper and offer an alternative to the commonly accepted theory that planet-sized black holes could only form in the early universe.”
According to Phoroutan-Mehr, exoplanets have not been used much in dark matter research largely because scientists did not have enough data about them.
“But in recent years, our knowledge of exoplanets has expanded dramatically, and several upcoming space missions will provide even more detailed observations,” he said. “With this growing body of data, exoplanets can be used to test and challenge different dark matter models.”
Exoplanets Enter the Dark Matter Debate
Phoroutan-Mehr said in the past, scientists investigated dark matter by observing objects like the sun, neutron stars, and white dwarfs, since different models of dark matter can affect these objects in different ways. For example, some models suggest that dark matter can heat up neutron stars.
“So, if we were to observe an old and cold neutron star, it could rule out certain properties of dark matter, since dark matter is theoretically expected to heat them up,” he said.
He added that many exoplanets (and Jupiter in our solar system) not having collapsed into black holes can help scientists rule out or refine dark matter models such as the superheavy non-annihilating dark matter model.
“If astronomers were to discover a population of planet-sized black holes, it could offer strong evidence in favor of the superheavy non-annihilating dark matter model,” Phoroutan-Mehr said. “As we continue to collect more data and examine individual planets in more detail, exoplanets may offer crucial insights into the nature of dark matter.”
Phoroutan-Mehr noted that another possible effect of dark matter on exoplanets — and possibly on planets in our solar system — is that it could heat them or cause them to emit high-energy radiation.
“Today’s instruments aren’t sensitive enough to detect these signals,” he said. “Future telescopes and space missions may be able to pick them up.”
Reference: “Probing superheavy dark matter with exoplanets” by Mehrdad Phoroutan-Mehr and Tara Fetherolf, 20 August 2025, Physical Review D.
DOI: 10.1103/qkwt-kd9q
Funding: U.S. Department of Energy, NASA Astrobiology Institute
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