The First Stars: Keys to Understanding Dark Matter

Dear Colleagues,

The dominant type of matter in the universe does not emit electromagnetic radiation and is therefore called dark matter. But it does have gravity and is thus important for the creation of the first stars in the universe.

In this connection research on the interaction between dark and visible matter in the early universe is important as it is part of a great project in which humanity have been engaged in for thousands of years: to know ourselves and our universe.

In this Special Issue of the journal Universe we invite researchers to present their contributions related to this project. We would appreciate contributions about several related topics:

• WIMPs and the first generation of stars (K. Freese et al. “Dark stars: A review”);
• How DM-sourced energy injection on the H2 content of the first galaxies acts upon the threshold mass required for a halo to form stars at high redshifts. (W. Qin et al. “Birth of the first stars amidst decaying and annihilating dark matter”);
• Dark stars (A. Stacy et al. “The Mutual Interaction Between Population III Stars and Self-Annihilating Dark Matter”);
• The first stars as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope (C. Ilie et al. “Supermassive Dark Star candidates seen by JWST?”).

Prof. Dr. Øyvind Grøn
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Universe is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• dark matter
• first stars
• early universe
• WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles)
• James Webb Space Telescope