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Self-Interacting Dark Matter Solves Three Cosmic Mysteries

5/8/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Physicist Hai-Bo Yu of UC Riverside proposes that self-interacting dark matter can resolve three astrophysical puzzles.
The theory allows dark-matter particles to collide, producing dense cores through gravothermal collapse.
It explains the ultradense clump observed in the lensed system JVAS B1938+666.
It also accounts for the visible scar in the GD-1 stellar stream and the formation of Fornax 6 by trapping stars in a dense dark-matter patch.

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Story summary

Physicist Hai-Bo Yu of UC Riverside proposes that self-interacting dark matter can resolve three astrophysical puzzles.
The theory allows dark-matter particles to collide, producing dense cores through gravothermal collapse.
It explains the ultradense clump observed in the lensed system JVAS B1938+666.
It also accounts for the visible scar in the GD-1 stellar stream and the formation of Fornax 6 by trapping stars in a dense dark-matter patch.