Dark matter, which researchers believe makes up about 80 percent of the universe’s mass, is one of the most elusive mysteries in modern physics. A recent study indicates it may be older than the Big Bang.
The study, published in Physical Review Letters, presents a new idea of how this matter was born and how to identify it with astronomical observations. Tommi Tenkanen, a postdoctoral fellow in Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University and the study’s author, said:
“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.”
Researchers believe the connection revealed in their study can be used to make conclusions about times even before the Big Bang. (Image: pixelparticle via Shutterstock)
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 it exists by its gravitation effects on how visible matter moves and is distributed in space.
For a long time, researchers believed that it must be a leftover substance from the Big Bang. Researchers have long sought this kind of matter, but so far, all experimental searches have been unsuccessful. Tenkanen said:
“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.”
Dark matter may be older than the Big Bang
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 cosmic inflation, when space was expanding very rapidly. The rapid expansion is believed to lead to the copious production of certain types of particles called scalars.
The study shows that dark matter may have been produced before the Big Bang during an era known as cosmic inflation, when space was expanding very rapidly. (Image: Katrina Leigh via Shutterstock)
So far, only one scalar particle has been discovered, the famous Higgs boson. Tenkanen explained:
“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.”
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. He says the new study shows that researchers have always overlooked the simplest possible mathematical scenario for its origins.
The new study also suggests a way to test the origin of this matter by observing the signatures it leaves on the distribution of matter in the universe, saying:
“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 soon learn more about the origin of dark matter when the Euclid satellite is launched in 2022. It’s going to be very exciting to see what it will reveal about dark matter and if its findings can be used to peek into the times before the Big Bang.”
Provided by: Johns Hopkins University [Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.]
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