dark matter

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid telescope has been gradually losing its vision as layers of water molecules have frozen onto its mirrors. That’s bad news for a mission tasked with observing the dark universe using super-sensitive cameras, but the team behind the telescope has come up with a plan to keep Euclid warm in the cold depths of space.First Full-Color Images From Webb Space TelescopeEuclid launched in July 2023 to study the dark universe—the parts of our cosmos made up of dark energy and dark matter—using…

A groundbreaking map of 1.3 million quasars reveals the universe’s structure and expansion, utilizing data from the Gaia space telescope and aiding in the study of dark matter and cosmic evolution. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)The new map includes around 1.3 million quasars from across the visible universe and could help scientists better understand the properties of dark matter.Astronomers have charted the largest-ever volume of the universe with a new map of active supermassive black holes living at the…

A groundbreaking study by the University of Ottawa, led by physicist Rajendra Gupta, proposes a new cosmological model, the CCC+TL model, which argues that dark matter is not necessary to explain the universe’s behavior. Credit: SciTechDaily.comThe current theoretical model for the composition of the universe is that it’s made of ‘normal matter,’ ‘dark energy’ and ‘dark matter.’ A new study challenges this.A University of Ottawa study published in The Astrophysical Journal challenges the current model of the universe by…

UCLA astrophysicists have used new simulations to uncover that the earliest galaxies may have been smaller and brighter than previously believed, challenging current dark matter theories. By incorporating interactions between gas and dark matter, their research suggests that these bright dwarf galaxies, if found by the James Webb Space Telescope, could validate existing models. However, their absence would prompt a reevaluation of our understanding of dark matter and the universe’s formation.Should theories of cold dark…

But there may be opportunities to indirectly spot the signatures of those gravitons.One strategy Vafa and his collaborators are pursuing draws on large-scale cosmological surveys that chart the distribution of galaxies and matter. In those distributions, there might be “small differences in clustering behavior,” Obied said, that would signal the presence of dark gravitons.When heavier dark gravitons decay, they produce a pair of lighter dark gravitons with a combined mass that is slightly less than that of their parent…

Despite keeping us grounded and warping light that travels through space, gravity is actually quite a weak force. The smaller the mass, the less gravity appears to have any pull, until at quantum scales it appears to have no force at all.Dave Bautista Opens Up About His Relationship With Denis VilleneuveNow, physicists in England and Europe have measured a tiny—but apparent—gravitational pull on a minuscule mass, making it the smallest mass to yet show the signs of gravity, a force that has perplexed physicists for…

The South Pole Telescope’s camera received an upgrade in 2017. An analysis of initial observation data was just published in the journal Physical Review D. Credit: Brad Benson/University of Chicago.Gravitational lensing maps from initial data promise even more detail.Argonne is part of a multi-institutional effort to survey the sky for clues about the origins and nature of our universe.For more than five years, scientists at the South Pole Telescope in Antarctica have been observing the sky with an upgraded camera. The…

You’re probably excited for DUNE—no, not that one. I’m talking about the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a mile below Lead, South Dakota, where three massive caverns have been excavated for the world’s latest search for the enigmatic particles.Alex Winter on Innovative Horror Movies About 100 trillion neutrinos pass through your body every second, according to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. They are the lightest particles that have mass, and as far as we know are fundamental—they are not made up of any…

Researchers measure dark matter speed by studying lopsided galaxies affected by dynamical friction caused by dark matter. This method helps in understanding the interactions between galaxies and dark matter, aiding theoretical physics and cosmology. Credit: SciTechDaily.comThe study of lopsided galaxies reveals how gravitational effects and dynamical friction can illuminate dark matter’s mysteries, advancing our understanding in cosmology.So how can the speed of dark matter be measured? The prerequisite is to find a…

With everything we learn about the nature of dark matter—that mysterious, unseeable substance that helps galaxies to form—there are a hundred new questions to answer. A new theory about how dark matter interacts with gasses just hit the wire, and it’s leading scientists down a new path of cosmological discovery.In a study published Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team of UCLA researchers created a simulation of how dark matter may have behaved in the early universe. The new concept shows that colder dark…