Theoretical astrophysicists propose dark matter's role in creating dark atoms and evenly spread dark energy.

Theoretical astrophysicists have studied a hypothetical form of dark matter that combines to form dark atoms, which can drastically affect the evolution of galaxies. Atomic dark matter can rapidly clump up, forming a "shadow disk" to go along with the disk of stars in the typical galaxy. The researchers found differences in star formation rates and the population and distribution of stars in a galaxy that includes dark atoms versus a galaxy that only includes a single dark matter component.