Gas giants transformed into cosmic wells, such is the hypothesis studied by astronomers. According to the study published in the journal Physical Review D, they claim that a gas planet could concentrate enough dark matter in its core to form a black hole, capable of swallowing its planet from the inside. A fascinating scenario, halfway between astrophysical theories and disaster scenarios.
In an interview for the specialist magazine FuturismMehrdad Phoroutan-Mehr, co-author of the study at the University of California, explains: “In gaseous exoplanets of varying sizes and densities, black holes could form on observable time scales, and even appear several times during the life of the same planet.” A hypothesis which, if verified, would transform the way we probe distant planets.
Scientists still don’t know what dark matter actually is. Practically undetectable, its existence is nevertheless revealed by its gravitational effects on galaxies. The dominant model suggests that it would be made up of massive, weakly interactive particles, called WIMPs –“Weakly Interacting Massive Particles» or “weakly interacting massive particles” – forming invisible halos around galaxies.
Unexpected cosmic laboratories
According to Mehrdad Phoroutan-Mehr, these heavy but non-annihilating particles could accumulate in the heart of a gas giant and create a black hole in just around ten months. However, such an emerging phenomenon is not necessarily a catastrophic event for the planet. “The survival of a black hole inside a planet depends on its initial mass”specifies the scientist.
If the black hole is too small, it could disappear before it can even grow. The co-author also mentions an intermediate mass where the black hole can remain stable, neither growing nor evaporating, in the warm heart of the planet.
If such planets exist, they should be near the galactic center, where the density of dark matter is highest. Their observation would offer astronomers a unique opportunity: to directly probe the properties of dark matter and understand its role in the formation of planets and galaxies. These real natural laboratories could be a source of rich lessons for modern physics.
As for our solar system and our good old Earth, no risk, we do not inhabit a gas giant and are located 26,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way. You can sleep peacefully.
