Dark branches of immortal stars at the Galactic Center
We show that stars in the inner parsec of the Milky Way can be significantly affected by dark matter annihilation, producing population-level effects that are visible in a Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram. We establish the dark HR diagram, where stars lie on a new stable with similar luminosities, but lower temperatures, than the standard main sequence. The dark matter density in these stars continuously replenishes, granting these stars immortality and solving multiple stellar anomalies. Upcoming telescopes could detect the dark main sequence, offering a new dark matter discovery avenue.
Authors
- Tim Linden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9888-0971)
- Isabelle John (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2550-7038)
- Rebecca K. Leane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1287-8780)
Institutions
- Stockholm University (SE)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Published
- 2025-07-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.112.023028
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.93
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Stanford University
- Swedish National Space Agency
- Vetenskapsrådet