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Milky Way's Core: Dark Matter Clump Instead of Black Hole?
6 Feb
Summary
- A new theory suggests dark matter clump may replace the supermassive black hole.
- This clump could explain star orbits and galaxy rotation dynamics.
- The theory aligns with recent images of the galactic center.
A groundbreaking theory emerging from the Institute of Astrophysics La Plata posits that the Milky Way's center may not contain a supermassive black hole, but an immense cluster of dark matter. This dark matter clump, potentially formed by light fermionic particles, could explain the rapid orbits of stars near the galactic core. It also offers a unified explanation for the galaxy's rotation without requiring a separate dark matter halo.
The proposed dark matter model is consistent with the 2022 image of the galactic center captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. Researchers suggest that the dense dark matter core could bend light in a way that mimics the appearance of a black hole's shadow surrounded by a bright ring. This unified explanation is seen as preferable to the conventional black hole theory because it addresses multiple galactic phenomena with a single entity.
