What practical tip is suggested for astronomers searching for Dark Stars near Sagittarius A*?

Answer

Shifting focus from 'how old is it' to 'how is it generating energy'

Determining the precise age of ancient celestial objects is inherently challenging, especially for objects predating widespread metal enrichment. The practical advice for identifying Dark Stars hinges on bypassing this difficulty by focusing on the star's fundamental physical mechanics. Instead of trying to precisely date the object based on evolutionary tracks that assume nuclear burning, astronomers should scrutinize whether the star's observed stability, luminosity, and longevity conform to established nuclear physics models. If a candidate star near Sagittarius A* exhibits long-term stability without the expected mass loss or luminosity decay curves associated with hydrogen consumption, it strongly suggests an alternative, non-nucleosynthetic power source like dark matter annihilation is at work, bolstering the Dark Star hypothesis.

What practical tip is suggested for astronomers searching for Dark Stars near Sagittarius A*?

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