Posted on Aug 8, 2019 in Astronomy, Dark Matter, Physics, Science, Space
“If dark matter were truly a remnant of the Big Bang, then in many cases researchers should have seen a direct signal of dark matter in different particle physics experiments already,” says astrophysicist Tommi Tenkanen at the Johns Hopkins University.
“We do not know what dark matter is, but if it has anything to do with any scalar particles, it may be older than the Big Bang. With the proposed mathematical scenario, we don’t have to assume new types of interactions between visible and dark matter beyond gravity, which we already know is there,” adds Tenkanen.
While this type of dark matter is too elusive to be found in particle experiments, it can reveal its presence in astronomical observations. We will learn more about the origin of dark matter when the ESA’s Euclid satellite is launched in 2022, which aims at probing the eon before the Big Bang as well as understanding why the expansion of the Universe is accelerating and what is the nature of the source responsible for this acceleration which physicists refer to as dark energy.
Physicists have imagined new kinds of matter ranging from planet-sized particles to highly-speculative dark-matter life, consistent with the known laws of the universe, but so far none has been detected or its existence confirmed. The Large Hadron Collider’s discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 prompted an all too brief burst of optimism that dark matter particles would soon be discovered, but so far none has been seen and previously promising classes of particles have been dashed.
“The nature of dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries in science and we need to use any related new data to tackle it,” says astronomer Avi Loeb of the CfA who was not part of the Johns Hopkins study.
Is Dark Matter Only the Tip of an Invisible Universe of Unknown Forces?
Using a new, simple mathematical framework, the study shows that dark matter may have been produced before the Big Bang during an era known as the cosmic inflation when space was expanding very rapidly. The rapid expansion is believed to lead to copious production of certain types of particles called scalars. So far, only one scalar particle has been discovered, the famous Higgs boson.
The new Johns Hopkins University study , published August 7 in Physical Review Letters, presents a new idea of how dark matter was born and how to identify it with astronomical observations.
“The study revealed a new connection between particle physics and astronomy. If dark matter consists of new particles that were born before the Big Bang, they affect the way galaxies are distributed in the sky in a unique way. This connection may be used to reveal their identity and make conclusions about the times before the Big Bang too,” says Tenkanen, a postdoctoral fellow in Physics and Astronomy and the study’s author.
While not much is known about its origins, astronomers have shown that dark matter plays a crucial role in the formation of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Though not directly observable, scientists know dark matter exists by its gravitation effects on how visible matter moves and is distributed in space.
For a long time, researchers believed that dark matter must be a leftover substance from the Big Bang. Researchers have long sought this kind of dark matter, but so far all experimental searches have been unsuccessful.
Primordial Black Holes May Unveil Nature of Dark Matter
Using a new, simple mathematical framework, the study shows that dark matter may have been produced before the Big Bang during an era known as the cosmic inflation when space was expanding very rapidly. The rapid expansion is believed to lead to copious production of certain types of particles called scalars. So far, only one scalar particle has been discovered, the famous Higgs boson.
While the idea that dark matter existed before the Big Bang is not new, other theorists have not been able to come up with calculations that support the idea. The new study shows that researchers have always overlooked the simplest possible mathematical scenario for dark matter’s origins, he says.
The new study also suggests a way to test the origin of dark matter by observing the signatures dark matter leaves on the distribution of matter in the universe.
The Daily Galaxy, Max Goldberg, via Johns Hopkins University and ESA
Image credit: Dark matter UC Berkeley
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