A team of astrophysicists headed by Aaron Vincent at Durham University, in England, has proposed the existence of a new type of dark matter, one stored deep within the sun (Physical Review Letters, February 26, 2015). According to the theory defended by the researchers, a special variant of dark matter – a mysterious component believed to make up almost 27% of the universe – seems to accumulate below the surface of the sun and play an important role in heat transport within the star. The potential existence of this type of dark matter would provide a more satisfactory explanation regarding the transfer of energy from the center of the sun to its outer layers, as compared to the currently accepted solar model. As in previous studies, Vincent and his colleagues assume that the dark matter is composed of tiny particles of antimatter.
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