This article discusses the significant yet mysterious role of dark matter in the universe, which comprises 27% of the cosmic energy budget, overshadowed only by dark energy at 68%. While normal matter, constituting only 4.9%, can be observed in collapsed forms like stars and planets, dark matter exists solely in diffuse halos. A reader's question prompts a review of the misconceptions surrounding gravitational collapse, especially concerning dark matter's behavior under gravity. The piece emphasizes that the lack of collapse does not imply repulsive forces at play, but rather a different fundamental nature of dark matter.
Dark matter represents a staggering 27% of the Universe's energy budget, existing in diffuse halos instead of collapsing into clumps as normal matter does.
The question of why dark matter does not collapse despite being gravitationally interactive addresses common misconceptions about gravitational collapse in astrophysics.
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