Dark Matter Could Transfer Energy in the Sun by Steven Priestley (Extra Credit)

In this article Researchers from the Institute for Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) and other European groups have studied the effects of the presence of dark matter in the Sun. According to Mark Taoso (researcher at the IFIC) they assume that the dark matter particles interact weakly with the Sun’s atoms, and what they have done was calculated at what levels the interactions can occur. The purpose of this would give a better description of the structure and evolution of the Sun. According to calculations low mass dark matter particles could be transferring energy from the core to the external parts of the Sun, which would inevitably affect the quantity of neutrinos that reach Earth. (Science Daily) According to Models the WIMP’S (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles) interact weakly with other normal ones , such as atoms and could be building up on the inside of stars. Scientist believe that the majority dark matter particles gather together in the center of the Sun interacting and exchanging with the solar atoms, the WIMP’S transport the energy from the burning central core to the cooler parts. Taso refers  to "This effect produces a cooling down of the core, the region from where the neutrinos originate due to the nuclear reactions of the Sun,". The neutrinos that reach Earth can be measured by means of different techniques. The transport of energy by these particles depends on the likelihood of them interacting with the atoms, and the "size" of these interactions is related to the reduction in the neutrino fluctuation. "As a result, current data about solar neutrinos can be used to put limits on the extent of the interactions between dark matter and atoms, and using numerical codes we have proved that certain values correspond to a reduction in the flux of solar neutrinos and clash with the measurements," Taoso reveals. The team has applied their calculations to better understand the effects of low mass dark matter particles  and Taoso concludes that their calculations show that the modifications of the star’s structure are too small to support that the WIMP’S cannot explain the problem of the composition of the Sun. Therefore the dark matter is not giving a better description of the structure and description of the Sun. (Science Daily)

Plataforma SINC. "Dark matter could transfer energy in the Sun." ScienceDaily 3 December 2010. 5 December 2010 .