Strange stars that go supernova may be dimming because of dark matter

There is a problem with some stars that have exploded in supernovae, and it might point to new, exotic physics. They do not seem to have been as bright as they should have been, and particles called axions might have dimmed them before they blew up.

Type II supernovae come from the collapse and explosion of a massive star called a red giant. Our best models for these stars predict a strict relationship between these stars’ brightness and mass, but Oscar Straniero at the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy…