Scientists are uncovering how dark matter, the universe's invisible material, played a crucial role in forming the very first stars. New research, including observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, suggests dark matter created the cosmic scaffolding for these early celestial bodies. This understanding helps explain the origins of galaxies and the universe as we know it today. ### Dark Matter Formed Cosmic Scaffolding Dark matter makes up about 27% of the universe's total mass, far outweighing the ordinary matter we can see.^[1][2] Early in the universe, after the Big Bang, tiny density variations in dark matter grew under gravity. These formed gravitationally bound clumps called "dark matter halos."^[3][4][5] These halos acted like an invisible skeleton, forming a vast network known as the cosmic web.^[4][5][6] Ordinary matter, primarily hydrogen and helium gas, was initially too hot to collapse on its own.^[3] However, the strong gravitational pull from the dark matter halos drew this gas inward.^[3][4][7][5] As gas accumulated in the densest parts of this cosmic web, it cooled and compressed. This allowed the gas to collapse further, eventually igniting nuclear fusion and forming the universe's first stars and, later, galaxies.^[3][4][7][5] ### Webb Telescope Hints at Dark Stars Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are providing new insights and even challenging some standard models. JWST has spotted unexpectedly bright and elongated young galaxies that formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang.^[8][7] These findings suggest that some of the universe's earliest stars might have been different from the fusion-powered stars we see today.^[9] Scientists propose a new type of celestial body called "supermassive dark stars."^[10][9][11] These are enormous spheres of hydrogen and helium, potentially millions of times more massive than our Sun.^[10][9] Instead of nuclear fusion, these "dark stars" could be powered by the annihilation of dark matter particles within them.^[10][9][11] Cosmin Ilie, an astrophysicist at Colgate University, leads research on these objects. "Supermassive dark stars are extremely bright, giant, yet puffy clouds made primarily out of hydrogen and helium, which are supported against gravitational collapse by the minute amounts of self-annihilating dark matter inside them," Ilie said.^[9] If dark matter particles are their own antiparticles, they would collide and destroy each other, releasing energy.^[10][11] This energy would heat the gas, preventing it from collapsing into a normal star and instead forming a dark star.^[10] ### Identifying Early Universe Clues Researchers have identified four extremely distant objects using JWST data that match the predicted appearance and spectral signatures of supermassive dark stars.^[9] This discovery could help solve two puzzles: the unexpected brightness of early galaxies and the rapid formation of supermassive black holes in the early universe.^[10][9][11] Dead supermassive dark stars could collapse directly into black holes, providing a pathway for these massive objects to form quickly.^[10][11] Beyond the "dark star" hypothesis, astronomers continue to use JWST to test different models of dark matter. While the standard model uses "cold dark matter," some theories suggest "warm dark matter" or "wave dark matter."^[8][7][6] Warm dark matter particles move faster and could smooth out small clumps, potentially delaying the birth of smaller galaxies.^[8] Comparing real galaxies seen by JWST with computer models helps scientists refine these dark matter theories.^[8] In a separate development, Tomonori Totani, a researcher at the University of Tokyo, recently reported detecting a halo of high-energy gamma rays at the center of the Milky Way.^[12][13] This signal closely matches what theories predict if weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a leading candidate for dark matter, were colliding and annihilating.^[14][12][13] This claim is controversial and requires further verification from the scientific community.^[14][15] Scientists continue to explore the nature of dark matter and its profound impact on the universe's evolution. From providing the gravitational foundation for the first stars to potentially powering exotic "dark stars," this invisible substance remains a central mystery in modern physics.

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