| Quark Star |
Article Index for Quark |
Website Links For Quark |
Information AboutQuark Star |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT QUARK STAR | |
| star types | |
| quark stars | |
| hypothetical stars | |
| exotic matter | |
|
Strange matter is one candidate for the theoretical Dark Matter that is a feature of several Cosmological theories. Strange stars are largely theoretical at this point, but observations released by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory on April 10 2002 detected two candidates, designated RX J185635-3754 and 3C58 , which had previously been thought to be neutron stars. Based on the known laws of physics, the former appeared much smaller and the latter much colder than they should, suggesting that they are composed of material denser than neutronium. However, these observations have been under attack by researchers who say the results were not conclusive; it remains to be seen how the question of strange star existence will play out. Recent theoretical research has found mechanisms by which quark stars with "strange quark nuggets" may decrease the objects' electric fields and densities from previous theoretical expectations, causing such stars to appear very much like--nearly indistinguishable from--neutron stars ( Jaikumar et al. 2006 ). However, the team made some fundamental assumptions that led to uncertainties in their theory large enough that the case for it is not yet solid. More research, both observational and theoretical, remains to be done on strange stars in the future. SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|