Meteors may help astronomers devise a new way to locate dark matter, mysterious, invisible particles that have so far only been discerned by the effect they have on the natural world.
Five times more prevalent than ordinary matter, dark matter makes up about 85% of the total mass of the universe and about a quarter (26.8%) of the total mass and energy of the universe. Humans are unable to directly detect these elusive particles because dark matter does not emit light. Scientists are therefore using powerful instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope or NASA’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to see its influence on galaxies and other distant star clusters.
Now, according to a study by researchers at Ohio State University, ground-based radar systems could be used to aid in the search.
John Beacom, co-author of the study and a professor of physics and astronomy at Ohio State, said that while scientists generally only look for tiny particles of dark matter with small masses, the purpose of this new research is to improve research by helping to characterize macroscopic dark matter: high-mass particles that might not reach traditional terrestrial detectors.
“One of the reasons dark matter is so hard to detect could be that the particles are so massive,” Beacom said. “If the mass of dark matter is small, then the particles are common, but if the mass is large, the particles are rare.”
Although these particles cannot be touched or seen, dark matter can be perceived through its gravitational effects on other celestial phenomena, such as stars or black holes.
Although its effects on other natural systems are not easy to categorize, taking the time to learn more about dark matter opens up new avenues for scientists to understand the size, shape and future of the cosmos, a said Beacom. Such detections can also reveal the mass of these particles, which, depending on their size, can have enormous effects on the formation and structure of galaxies.
The research is currently published on the open-access preprint server, arXiv.
What makes the research so original is that the scientists applied the same technology used to track meteors as they cross the sky. As they pass through the Earth’s atmosphere, meteors and dark matter particles produce ionization deposits, a form of radiation that leaves free electrons, atoms capable of conducting electricity. The electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar bounce off the free electrons, signaling the presence of otherworldly matter, which can then be used to distinguish dark matter from meteors. In this way, the entire planet’s atmosphere can be transformed into an efficient large-scale particle detector.
Although scientists have used this method of meteor hunting for decades, Beacom said he was surprised that no one had ever applied these systems, or their previously collected data, in the search for dark matter.
One of the study’s most important findings is how the team’s new method could complement other cosmological research into dark matter, as their system offers a level of precision and sensitivity that many lack. many other techniques.
“Current cosmology techniques are quite sensitive, but they have no way of verifying their own work,” Beacom said. “This is a completely new technique, so if scientists are unsure of what they have detected, a signal from cosmology could be checked in detail with the radar technique.”
Co-authors were Pawan Dhakal, Steven Prohira, and Christopher Cappiello from Ohio State, and Scott Palo and John Marino from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
3 known and 3 unknown on dark matter
Pawan Dhakal et al, New Constraints on Macroscopic Dark Matter Using Radar Meteor Detectors (2022).
Provided by Ohio State University
Quote: Astronomers create new technique to help search for dark matter (October 18, 2022) Retrieved October 18, 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-10-astronomers-technique-dark.html
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