Does the sun use dark matter to help radiate heat?

[twilyth]

Normally we think of dark matter as only interacting via the force of gravity, but certain types should interact in other ways although weakly. A new model could indicate that one way the sun radiates heat is via a certain type of dark matter that we should be able to find in one of the various ongoing dark matter searches.

Article

Unexplained discrepancies between mathematical models of the Sun and astronomical observations could be resolved by the presence of dark matter in the Sun, according to the latest work from an international team of researchers. The team's model – which looks at dark matter that has a particular, momentum-dependent interaction with normal matter – explains the observed data much better than more conventional dark-matter models. The researchers believe that the particles they postulate could potentially be seen either by direct detectors or in particle accelerators.

In recent years, scientists have reduced their estimates of the proportion of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium in the Sun. These new estimates, based on reinterpretations of spectroscopic data, create a problem. When applied to conventional mathematical models of the solar structure, they create multiple conflicts with the values of various quantities that are measured by looking at periodic changes in size of the Sun caused by acoustic pressure waves. This study of the internal structure of the Sun via acoustic waves is known as helioseismology. To resolve these inconsistencies, researchers are seeking new ways that heat can reach the surface of the Sun from its core. One possibility is that the Sun might contain dark matter that it captures as it passes through the galactic halo. Such matter could carry heat from the core to the cooler outer layers of the Sun.

Here's a shorter, less detailed article on the topic.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

If you think about how a star is born, the gasses have to coalesce around something massive and that mass also has to facilitate the starting of the fusion reaction (the force has to be strong enough to trap the gasses). Galaxies (whom have something resembling "dark matter" at their core) also have a similar planar shape to solar systems which can't be mere coincidence.

I think the old adage "hidden in plain sight" applies here.


If the key to creating a fusion reactor is "dark matter," then suddenly it becomes imperative that we get our hands on some.

 

[twilyth]

It looks like dark matter might also affect the temperature of earth's core as well as perturbing the orbit of comets.

The way this works, in theory, is that every 30M years or so, the solar system weaves its way through the galactic disk. This happens as the solar system orbits the center of the Milky Way. However the orbit isn't straight. It bobs above and below the disk during it 250M year transit around the galaxy's center.

Since dark matter is believed to be concentrated in the disk, passing through it might mean passing through more concentrated areas of dark matter.

But even more remarkably, with each dip through the disk, the dark matter can apparently accumulate within Earth's core. Eventually, the dark matter particles annihilate each other, producing considerable heat. The heat created by the annihilation of dark matter in Earth's core could trigger events such as volcanic eruptions, mountain building, magnetic field reversals, and changes in sea level, which also show peaks every 30 million years. Rampino therefore suggests that astrophysical phenomena derived from Earth's winding path through the galactic disk and the consequent accumulation of dark matter in the planet's interior can result in dramatic changes in Earth's geological and biological activity.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

It looks like dark matter might also affect the temperature of earth's core as well as perturbing the orbit of comets.

I had a suspicion typing that last post that planets may have dark matter at their core not unlike the sun. This could explain why asteroid belts exist: there's no dark matter in that region of the solar system for the asteroids to coalesce around to form a planet. If all of this pans out to be true, it solves the problem of the shape of the galaxy and how that force trickles down to stars and planets.

The part you quoted, doesn't it make more sense for this to be a reaction between dark matter at the cores of large stellar bodies and dark energy emanating from the core of the galaxy or even the sun? OMG! Dark matter + being bombarded by dark energy causing the matter to expand could explain the mechanisms of the "growing Earth" theory:

Even if the Earth didn't grow (and evidence is pretty strong that it did), the bombarding could lead to uneven heating which in turns causes the tectonic plates to shift dramatically. This could lead to formation of mountains and trenches as well as the floods and volcanoes that would occur due to a rapid change in plates.

Truly remarkable stuff and it fits like a glove.