“Cosmic riddle cracked after 400 years: Globular clusters and sneaky dark matter systems hiding the Milky Way”
So, picture this: a cluster of stars, over 13 billion years old, but surprisingly missing dark matter. What’s up with that? Well, thanks to some cutting-edge simulations, researchers have finally cracked the case. But wait, there’s more! Turns out, they’ve stumbled upon a whole new kind of stellar system lurking in our galaxy – think globular clusters, but with a dark matter twist.
Unveiling the Mystery of GCDs
Back in 1665, astronomer Abraham Ihle spotted a stellar cluster in Scorpius, now known as M22. This discovery set off a centuries-long puzzle: these compact clusters, packed with hundreds of thousands of stars, were somehow devoid of dark matter. Enter the GCDs – or “globular cluster-like dwarfs” as researchers have dubbed them. These sneaky objects may have been hiding in plain sight in our catalogs all along, masquerading as other celestial bodies like the C-19 stellar stream or satellites such as Reticulum II, Boötes II, or Draco II.
Cosmic Sims and Starry Surprises
To crack the case, an international team led by the University of Surrey fired up EDGE, a super powerful cosmological simulation, on the UK’s DiRAC supercomputer. This simulation went deep into the birth of the cosmos, detailing the formation of these mysterious GCDs in tiny halos before the big bang even happened. The key? A single burst of star formation, quickly snuffed out by supernova feedback. Who knew stars could be so dramatic?
The Cosmic Playground
But here’s where it gets really interesting: these GCDs could be the key to unlocking the secrets of dark matter and early star formation. By studying these hybrid objects, researchers hope to shed light on cosmological models and get a closer look at metal-free stars. It’s like opening a whole new window into the universe, one that could offer up answers to some of the biggest questions in physics. Who says astronomy can’t be a thrill ride?
