Tiny black holes may be secretly exploding stars across the Milky Way
Researchers propose that primordial black holes passing through white dwarf stars could trigger Type Ia supernovae. This theory may explain both the occurrence of these stellar explosions and the chemical abundance patterns observed in the Milky Way.
Why it matters
This research offers a potential explanation for dark matter candidates and the mechanisms behind some of the universe's most powerful stellar explosions.
An international research team has found that primordial black holes may trigger white dwarf stars to explode as Type Ia supernovae. These unusual explosions could also help explain a chemical abundance pattern observed among stars in the Milky Way, according to a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal .
Primordial black holes (PBH) are hypothetical remnants of the universe's earliest moments. Scientists think they may have formed during cosmic inflation, when rapid expansion amplified small fluctuations in the distribution of matter.
These black holes have been proposed as possible candidates for dark matter, the invisible material thought to account for about 90% of all matter in the Universe by mass. Although dark matter cannot be seen directly, its gravitational effects can be detected throughout galaxies and across the wider cosmos.
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