Hypothetical star


A hypothetical star is a star, or type of star, that is speculated to exist but has yet to be definitively observed. Hypothetical types of stars have been conjectured to exist, have existed or will exist in the future universe.

Types

Scientifically speculated hypothetical types include:
TypeDescriptionCandidatesNotesCitations
BlitzarPulsar with enough mass to suddenly collapse into a black hole when the rotation speed slows.
Blue dwarfConjectured to develop after a red dwarf has exhausted most of its hydrogen.The universe isn't old enough for this form to come into existence.
Black dwarfThe final state for a star, like the Sun, that is too small to become either a black hole or a neutron star. It would take a star like the Sun roughly a quadrillion years to reach this state, so none are believed to exist today.The universe isn't old enough for this form to come into existence.
Black starA star predicted in semiclassical gravity which collapses into a black hole state but has neither a gravitational singularity nor an event horizon.none
Boson starA star or astronomical object made of bosons, such as photons or gluons, rather than conventional matter.none
Dark energy starA conjectured alternative to a black hole.none
Dark matter starConjectured to have existed early in the universe.JADES-GS-z13-0, JADES-GS-z12-0, and JADES-GS-z11-0
Dark starA theoretical construct based on Newtonian gravitation, of a star with gravity so strong that even light cannot escape.This form cannot exist, as Newtonian gravitation breaks down under these conditions. It is a disproved hypothesis
Electroweak starA star where gravitational collapse is prevented by radiation pressure resulting from electroweak burning. In this type of star, quarks are converted to leptons via the electroweak interaction. The core of the star would be hand-sized, containing perhaps two earth masses, and might follow from the collapse of a quark star.none
Frozen starA very low-mass star with a surface temperature of only around 300 kelvins that could form in the far future, when the metallicity of the interstellar medium is higher than the current value.The universe isn't old enough for this form to come into existence.
FuzzballA formulation of black holes in string theory.none
GravastarAn alternative to a black hole that denies the possibility of a singularity.none
Hyperon starA massive neutron star containing hyperons.PSR J0348+0432
Iron starA final state for a star in the far future of the universe, when all matter is transmuted to iron via quantum tunneling.The universe isn't old enough for this form to come into existence.
MECOA hypothetical alternative to black holes.Q0957+561
Planck starA star where the energy density is around the Planck density. The star will start to expand as soon as its density reaches the Planck constant. To the black hole, it expands instantly, but to the outside world, it takes eons to expand even the slightest.none
Population III starThe very earliest stars, virtually free of metals, believed to have existed in the early universe when the only common elements were primordial hydrogen and helium.none
Preon starA star with a core composed of preons.none
Q star A compact, heavy neutron star with an exotic state of matter where most light does not escape the star.V404 Cygni
Quark starStar composed of quark matter or strange matter.3C 58, PSR B0943+10, XTE J1739-285
Quasi-starA conjectured star from the early universe with a black hole at its center.The Cliff
Strange starA form of quark star, a neutron star with strange matter at its core, or star which is a ball of strange matter.none
Thorne–Żytkow objectA red giant, red supergiant, or Wolf–Rayet star whose core is a neutron star.HV 11417
White holeThe polar opposite of a black hole, it ejects matter from its core into space. It is hypothetically formed when a region around a black hole experiences a loss in entropy, and will immediately collapse when the entropy is restored. The loss of entropy allows the black hole to travel back in time, so it will continue to suck matter up into its event horizon, but once something goes into the event horizon of a white hole, space-time is so distorted that it will always lead you to outside the event horizon, even if you try to go to the singularity.GRB 060614

Specific stars

Specific hypothetical stars include:
StarDescriptionNotesCitations
Nemesisa star proposed as a companion to the Sun by Richard A. Muller in 1984This star was disproved in 2011.
Coatlicuea star thought to be the reason for how the Sun came to be, proposed by Matthieu Gounelle and Georges Meynet in 2012
3 Cassiopeiaea star recorded by astronomer John Flamsteed, but never seen again
34 Tauria star recorded by John Flamsteed later revealed to have been the planet Uranus