Researchers detect potential Dark Matter signal, Greatest universe mystery resolved? (+video)

Researchers have been working for years to understand what dark matter is. While many in the science community understand that it exists, very few understand the extent at which dark matter exists. Scientists understand that dark matter has its place in science and have estimated that it makes up as much as 80% of all matter that is known in the universe. Generally speaking, the major curiosity around dark matter is understanding what role it plays in the universe as a whole.

That being said, a lot has been made of the discovery that scientists might have finally detected the sound, or spectrum that dark matter could be operating on – after analysis of two separate entities found a proton spike that hasn’t been noted in any previously known type of matter. The researchers have displayed cautious optimism regarding the discovery and noted that while even if they have discovered dark matter – there are still a lot of questions to be answered regarding the matter.

The matter is ultimately important because it can give major clues as to what a vast majority of the composition of space looks like. Dark matter cannot be seen through traditional means, and as far as that goes, has no traditional physical attributes that would allow anyone to handle it in a way that would be typical of things on Earth. To this point, the only significant thing scientists know for sure about dark matter is that it accounts for a large portion of space.

http://www.thehoopsnews.com/2014/12/10/2566/cassini-finds-saturns-moon-titan-90000-earth-year-old-dunes/

If scientists though can breakthrough on dark matter and really understand what purpose is serves, where it belongs, and what it does in the galaxy it would, in theory, begin to answer a lot of the questions that scientists have posed about the galaxies and universe as a whole.

http://www.thehoopsnews.com/2014/12/11/2587/5-25-trillion-plastic-trash-dumped-oceans-just-64-years/

It should be clear though that scientists have noted no direct correlation between black holes and dark matter. Black holes are region of spacetime, whereas dark matter is merely unknown particles. It would be fair to point out that dark matter – would no longer be dark by its traditional definition – once scientists understand what dark matters function is, what its comprised of, and how it interacts with the world around it.

Source: epflnews

5 Comments

Click here to post a comment
  • The article intones, to “really understand what purpose is serves, where it belongs, and what it does in the galaxy it would, in theory, begin to answer a lot of the questions that scientists have posed about the galaxies and universe as a whole.”

    Very teleological, don’t you think. I thought science was not teleological, but perhaps only in a traditional sense of church morality. What is the “purpose” of matter? let alone “dark matter”? What is your purpose? Mine? Matter’s? Energy’s?

  • Is dark matter at all remotely related to why anything black seems to absorb sunlight more and get hotter than than something of another color?

  • “It should be clear though that scientists have noted no direct correlation between black holes and dark matter.”

    Funny you should mention this. I had wondered why dark matter, which since it does not interact electromagnetically and cannot fight against gravitation collapse in the same ways normal matter does, does not produce vast numbers of black holes throughout the universe – especially since there is five times as much of it as normal matter.

    It appears that at least some dark matter candidates, like WIMPs, would skirt this problem by being their own antimatter twins. Any two WIMPs actually coming in contact would annihilate in a flash of gamma ray light.

    Still though, being its own antimatter twin only solves the problem in the case of WIMPs. If the dark matter is comprised of the sterile neutrinos (of which, I believe, the signal has been purportedly detected) then doesn’t that reopen the problem? And if Hawking is correct then wouldn’t black holes thus formed (at least small and hot enough ones) radiate detectably?

    These are the musings of a non-scientist, but, if there is any physicists out there with time to spare in answering, I’d be most interested.

    • Partially in answer to my own question, let me throw this out there:

      “…neutrinos are fermions, and thus obey the Pauli exclusion principle, i.e. in principle they are solid objects that cannot be packed into arbitrary densities…” – Wikipedia

      So it appears sterile neutrinos, which don’t interact even via the weak force, would still be subject to the density limits imposed by the Pauli exclusion principle and therefore not readily form miniature black holes.

      Weirdly thought this would seem to imply they could form bundles of of highly dense yet totally invisible degenerate matter just floating anywhere throughout the universe!

      • Last time replying to my own post, I promise.

        The only problem with the possibility of sterile neutrinos forming degenerate matter that I can find is whether their velocities are low enough to permit the possibility.

        Garden variety neutrinos move at relativistic velocities and cannot form gravitationally bound objects. Because of their tremendous speed, they are referred to as hot dark matter. Sterile neutrinos belong to a different class called warm dark matter. Whether this means they move slowly enough to produce gravitationally bound small scale objects I’d be curious to know.