No one knows what Dark Matter actually is. However, 85% is believed to make up the majority of the Universe’s total mass. A new fundamental particle could help to explain Dark Matter, according to researchers from Germany’s Max-Planck-Institut fur Physik and England’s University of Southampton. Researchers are certain that Dark Matter is real. Dark Matter has gravitational effects on galaxies and stars, and something bends light (gravitational lensesing). Astronomers also know of its presence in the Cosmic Mikrowave Background (afterglow from the Big Bang). Jan Hendrik Oort was the first to postulate dark matter. Because it is difficult to see, we call it Dark Matter. Even though there is compelling indirect evidence, no one has yet been able detect Dark Matter. Although we are well aware of the effects, it is not possible to see or sense them. It is called Dark Matter. What is Dark Matter? We don’t know. We have some clues from particle physics, a branch of physics which deals with subatomic particles. Most scientists think it is large enough to support fundamental particles such as heavy atoms. Researchers wrote in Scientific Reports, that lighter Dark Matter particles were less probable due to astrophysical factors, despite the existence of exceptions. The latest research reveals a new window in which it’s possible that they might exist and, with some very basic particle physics arguments yields surprising results. Team members propose a particle with a mass 100eV/c2, which is 1.1. 1. /500 0. 02% is the electron. It interacts strongly with ordinary matter, unlike Dark Matter. However, it doesn’t interact with light like Dark Matter. Because of Earth’s atmosphere, experiments cannot be conducted on Earth. The authors state that the proposed particle is unlikely to penetrate Earth’s atmosphere. Therefore, any experiment would need to take place in outer space. Researchers would love to include searches in a MAQRO space experiment. A nanoparticle suspended in space will expose it to Dark Matter flow. It will then be pulled downstream by the Dark Matter flow. Meanwhile, sensitive equipment can monitor the particle’s position and provide information on the Dark Matter’s nature – if this is true. James Bateman from the University of Southampton, who was a co-author of this study, stated that “this work brings together many very different areas of Physics: theoretical particle physics and observational xray astronomy as well as experimental quantum optics.” Although the candidate particle may sound crazy, there are no observations or experiments that could prove it.
