Black stars, not just black holes, may be possible in our weird universe

[Judi Lynn]

March 18, 2018 by PAUL RATNER



Credit: Pixabay

Groundbreaking research indicates that a totally new kind of star may exist in our wild Universe, one with characteristics between a neutron star and a black hole. One of its traits would be an ability to swallow light, but not forever - the light could theoretically escape.

A black hole is a superdense area in space with gravity so strong that it doesn’t allow light to get out. Such a “hole” can range from being super-tiny, no more than an atom in size, to “supermassive” which has a mass of more than one million of our suns taken together.

A neutron star is formed when a star collapses in a supernova which is not massive enough to produce a black hole. A neutron star could be as big as a city and is filled with, you guessed it, neutrons.

The new study, carried out by the Italian physicist Raúl Carballo-Rubio from the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), relied on mathematical calculations to show that another superdense kind of star structure may be possible. It has properties similar to previously-proposed black stars and gravastars, but now has the math to back it up.

More:
http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/black-stars-may-be-an-alternative-to-black-holes-suggests-new-research

[Throck]

1. I thought the black stars were in Hollywood?

[longship]

2. Well, a neutron star overcomes electron degeneracy.

The electrons collapse into the protons forming neutrons. There's some issues with the Pauli exclusion principle going on, too.

Black holes overcome quark degeneracy. (Apparently) My undergrad physics degree does not lead me to speculate what that might mean, let alone what might lie between the two to make a black star, whatever that is.

Interesting, but I'd be surprised if this pans out. Lots of theoretical physics doesn't.