International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This paper aims to study a spherically symmetric model of star clusters composed of quark stars and dark matter. We employ the Starobinsky f(R) model, f(R) = R + eR2, in conjunction with the Tolman–Kuchowicz metric and MIT bag equation of state to construct a physically viable model in the presence of dark matter. The unknown constants are determined by using the junction condition in the high-curvature formalism. We use the pulsar PSR J1614-2230 as a test star to evaluate the physical viability and stability of the model. It is found that dark matter significantly influences the dynamics of the quark star. The dynamical parameters of the test star, such as energy conditions, causality, and stability, are affected by dark matter. The star remains quasi-stable in the presence of dark matter, which can lead to collapsing phenomena of stars in the cluster model.