Academic News
With support from the National Science and Technology Council, Professor Lin-Ni Hau of National Central University and her collaborators have developed a new theoretical model to explore the thermodynamics of galactic cold dark matter and the solar atmosphere. Their findings may explain the spatial distribution of dark matter temperature, which first increases and then decreases with distance from the center of a galaxy cluster. Additionally, their model successfully reconstructs the temperature distribution of the solar atmosphere, from the photosphere and chromosphere to the transition region and corona, offering new insights into these mysterious astrophysical phenomena.
The statistical thermodynamic model proposed by Professor Hau and her team describes dark matter as a self-gravitating system composed of numerous massive bodies, while the solar atmosphere is modeled as a many-particle gas or plasma under the Sun's gravitational field. In both systems, the particles—including dark matter—exhibit a wide range of velocities and kinetic energies. Their research also reveals that only extreme non-equilibrium conditions can produce the unique temperature distributions observed in dark matter and the solar atmosphere—phenomena that cannot be explained by conventional velocity distribution functions.
The study has significant implications for both space physics and cosmology. Solar research is crucial for understanding space weather and Sun-Earth interactions, as high-energy radiation and charged particles emitted from the Sun can disrupt Earth's electromagnetic environment and satellite communications. Meanwhile, the study of dark matter is essential to our understanding of cosmic fundamental compositions and evolution. This research was published in the February 2025 issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
Journal article: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada76f
Solar atmosphere temperature distribution: https://cseligman.com/text/sun/sunatmosphere.htm
