Now, one new study is revealing a radically optimistic future for dark matter. This elusive material constitutes around 27% of the total mass–energy of the universe. Scientists have theorized that dark matter would interact with regular matter, leaving a detectable “fingerprint” on light. This would provide a way to detect it via its characteristic color signatures. This game-changing technique would make transformative headway in the field’s quest to find new dark matter candidates. It specifically aims at Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), axions, and dark photons.
The study makes use of the deep expertise of a handful of researchers at the University of York’s School of Physics, Engineering and Technology. It uses the wild and awesome idea of the “six handshake rule.” This concept, sometimes called the “six degrees of separation,” states that any two people on the planet are linked by no more than six common friends. This new context means that dark matter may not be completely hidden from light. Perhaps it does this through a chain of mediating particles, such as the Higgs boson and the top quark.
Understanding Dark Matter
Despite diligent efforts, dark matter continues to be one of the universe’s most mysterious ingredients. While it still stays hidden from view and avoids direct detection, its gravitational effects are obvious. We’re able to observe these impacts through the motion of galaxies and galaxy clusters. The new study sheds light on the idea that dark matter isn’t as colorless as once assumed.
Dr. Mikhail Bashkanov, a physicist participating in the study, emphasized an exhilarating prospect. For one thing, he argues that dark matter could behave in ways that defy our classic expectations.
“It’s a fairly unusual question to ask in the scientific world, because most researchers would agree that dark matter is dark, but we have shown that even dark matter that is the darkest kind imaginable—it could still have a kind of color signature.” – Dr. Bashkanov
This surprising discovery opens up exciting new ways to search for dark matter. It would imply that dark matter interacts with light in detectable ways.
A New Approach to Detection
For their second project, the researchers investigated how to find dark matter by photon scattering, in which photons interact with dark matter particles. Particles such as the Higgs boson and gravitons would mediate this interaction. This happens within the theoretical framework known as the unitary gauge. The study outlines how differential cross-sections for photons scattered on 1 TeV WIMP dark matter particles can be measured, focusing on photon energy and scattering angles.
According to Dr Bashkanov, the potential of these results is very important for subsequent experiments targeting dark matter candidates.
“Right now, scientists are spending billions building different experiments—some to find WIMPs, others to look for axions or dark photons. Our results show we can narrow down where and how we should look in the sky, potentially saving time and helping to focus those efforts.” – Dr. Bashkanov
This understanding doesn’t just help to inform currently ongoing studies, but can help to point future studies in the new direction of understanding dark matter’s true nature.
Implications for Astronomy
The implications of this research go beyond particle physics and thus into the realm of astronomy. By potentially revealing detectable signatures of dark matter through light, astronomers could gain new insights into its properties and distribution within the universe. This new path would make the search for dark matter much easier, enabling scientists to hone their observational strategies.
Dr Bashkanov said, “We are very excited about what this could lead to in future experiments.
“That means astronomy could tell us something completely new about the nature of dark matter, making the search for it much simpler.” – Dr. Bashkanov
The journal Physics Letters B has just published the results. They provide an in-depth look at their exciting new detection methods and underscore their importance for shedding light on dark matter’s role in the universe.