Parasite black holes devouring stars from inside, says study

In a new study, it has been found that an unusual candidate for dark matter, which can be referred to as parasite black holes, is likely to be lurking inside stars and slowly devouring them from the inside.

The study, which was led by astrophysicist Earl Bellinger of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and Yale University, said that teeny tiny black holes – which were created at the dawn of the time – may have been incorporated into Sun-like stars, and are likely to be present at their cores ever since and slowly slurping up the matter and creating more black holes.

The study has further examined how such parasitism would affect the stars and how they can be recognised out there in the Universe if scientists happen to cross them.

"We find that such objects can be surprisingly long-lived, with the lightest black holes having no influence over stellar evolution, while more massive ones consume the star over time to produce a range of observable consequences," said the researchers, in their paper.

"The unique internal structures of stars harbouring black holes may make it possible for asteroseismology to discover them, should they exist,” he added.

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Do tiny black holes really exist?

The universe is filled with black holes of different sizes. Scientists have spotted black holes with stellar mass ranges which are likely formed from a massive star's core collapse at the end of its life and the mergers that happen.

The universe also has supermassive monsters, which are millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun and are present at the core of every galaxy. The universe also has black holes with masses in between, which are elusive but are emerging in increasing numbers.

However, till now scientists have not been able to find tiny black holes, which have masses similar to planets, moons, or asteroids. There is not enough mass in these objects and hence, the gravity to collapse is as dense as a black hole.

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According to the researchers, they can study various stars to understand the signs of a black hole engine. It is expected that the black hole accretion is likely to produce various acoustic patterns inside the star.

"This presents an opportunity to either discover such objects, or to place bounds on their number and capture rate," stated the researchers.

"The implications for stars in more advanced evolutionary stages, numerical results for stars of different masses and metallicities, and investigations into stellar populations will also be explored in future works,” they added.

(With inputs from agencies)