White dwarfs hide information on dark forces

[Waspie_Dwarf]

White dwarfs hide information on dark forces

Researchers from Europe and the USA have ruled out a multitude of possible parameters for dark photons – a type of dark matter and energy – with the help of white dwarfs. In some aspects, the shining of these dying stars gives more information on dark forces than is provided by earth-based laboratories. The journal ‘Physical Review D’ has published the study.

White dwarfs represent the final life stage of stars with small or medium masses (less than a tenth of the mass of the Sun) and measures of their luminosity enable us to follow their cooling and the behaviour of their particles precisely in accordance with the standard model used in physics. Any diversion from predicted data should give scientists clues as to what could be out there, such as dark matter and energy.

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