Influence of Dark Matter on the Formation of Biogenic Elements in Early Universe Stars

TL;DR

This paper explores how dark matter interactions can significantly alter stellar nucleosynthesis in early universe stars, affecting element production and observable spectra, thus linking dark matter physics with cosmic chemical evolution.

Contribution

It introduces a model incorporating dark matter effects into stellar nucleosynthesis, revealing its impact on element synthesis and stellar spectra in primordial stars.

Findings

Enhanced carbon and nitrogen production in primordial stars

Reduced oxygen synthesis due to dark matter interactions

Synthetic spectra matching observed CEMP star characteristics

Abstract

We demonstrate that dark matter interactions can profoundly influence stellar nucleosynthesis in the early universe by altering thermodynamic gradients and modifying nuclear reaction rates within primordial stars. Incorporating a dark matter-modified Fermi-Dirac distribution and accounting for localized energy injection from annihilation heating, our model predicts enhanced production of carbon and nitrogen alongside reduced oxygen synthesis. These compositional shifts significantly reshape stellar structure and produce synthetic spectra that closely reproduce the observed characteristics of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars. Our findings reveal a direct and previously overlooked role of dark matter in driving the chemical evolution of the early cosmos, offering a plausible link between fundamental particle physics and observable astrophysical signatures.