Astronomers have spent nearly a century searching for dark matter, the invisible compound thought to constantly bind galaxies together. While there is a lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest this mysterious phenomenon, no one has been able to find it directly. Now, a new study may finally prove successful.
Using data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, Astronomer and University of Tokyo Professor Tononori Tonia asks to reveal the gamma-ray emission that seems to come from dark matter. His discovery, published Tuesday in The COSMOLOGY and Astroparticle Physics, suggested that these rays were emitted by the collision of Wimps (massive weak particles).
“Wimps, the leading candidate for dark matter, has long been predicted to annihilate and emit gamma rays, informing many search efforts,” Totani told Gizmoto in an email. “In this case, using the latest Fermi satellite data collected over 15 years and a new approach focused on the Halo region (without the gamractic center), I found the gammacy exit)
It’s an interesting discovery, but experts have spoken all the time, warning that the signal could be a case of cosmic noise due to the error of dark habits or something else that is increasing.
Totani himself insists that it is too early to definitively say that these gamma rays come from dark matter, but their characteristics suggest that they could. Based on his findings, they do not look like those from conventional astronomical sources. “At least, it represents the most promising radiation from dark matter known so far,” he said.
Finding a needle in a cosmological haystack
Astronomers believe that dark matter exists because nothing visible in the known universe can explain certain effects of gravity, such as the rapid rotation of galaxies or the fact that they are held together more tightly than they should be.
Dark matter is the theoretical answer to this cosmological conundrum, but if it exists, its particles do not move, reflect, or emit light. If they did, then astronomers would have discovered this mass a long time ago.
Wimps pretty much fit that description. Astronomers believe that Wimps interact with gravity, but their interactions with the electromagnetic and nuclear forces are too weak to detect. When they meet each other, however, they must mentally annihilate and emit gamma rays.
Investigators hunted for these gamma-ray outbursts, targeting regions of the Milky Way where dark matter is visible, such as the Galactic Center. This search came up empty, so Totani decided to look elsewhere, specifically the galaxy’s region.
This extended, high-mass region surrounding the Milky Way’s Galactic disk contains stars, gas, and possibly large amounts of dark matter. By analyzing observations of the Fermi satellite of the halo, Totani pointed out the high energy of the gamma ray which is consistent with the formation expected from the dark matter halo.
The range of Gamma-ray Emission intensities he observed matched what stars he would expect to see from the Wimp. Totani also estimated the frequency of witter destruction from the measured gamma-ray range, and this fell within the range of theoretical predictions. That suggests that he may have received a signal produced by the dark matter Wimps.
Case closed? Not yet
The findings are encouraging, but Totani and other experts caution that these gamma rays are not a smoking gun.
“The problem is that there are many ways to make gamma rays, everything from pulsars to the important ones to encourage black holes in supernovae,” the Fermilab physicist told Gizmoto. “Heck, we get gamma rays from the Sun.”
Fermilab officials asked Gizmotodo who declined to name the scientist who provided the quotes.
What distinguishes the Gamma Rays Totani discovered from many others is how powerful they are, with a Photon Energy of 20 GigaelectronVolvents 20. That is “very good,” but it is not completely audible, the Fermilab physicist explained. “There are very energetic things in space, and those very energetic things can make high-energy gamma rays.”
While the detection of Gamma Emissions Totani appeared to fit the description of those produced by Wimp Ebhuhi, there are other possible explanations that need to be ruled out first, according to the Fermilab Physist. This could include high-energy events such as neutron star collisions or the solar wind from pulsars, he explained.
Additional studies will also be needed to confirm the detection and quantification of Totani. “The decisive evidence will be the detection of gamma rays from other regions of the sky with the same dark parameters,” said Fotani. “I hope these results will be confirmed by independent analyzes by other researchers.”
With that said, Dan Hooper, professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Wisconsin Icecube Particle Center, and no one found the release of the Fermi Satellite Totani.
“Now, some different choices were made, and I’m glad that people are trying different things, but it doesn’t leave me very convinced that this is a true sign of a dark story,” Hooper told Gizmodo.
For one, Fotani did not observe gamma rays anywhere within 10 degrees of the galactic center. Although this method can provide some advantages, avoiding the galactic center may have changed the findings, since this is the region of our galaxy where scientists expect a large part of the dark matter signal, explained.
He also suspects that the GAMMA RAMA RAY EMISSION OF TONATANI IS MUCH MORE DETECTED BETTER THAN INVISIBLE.
The bottom line is that “dark matter is very hard to find, very hard to find,” says the Fymilab Physicist. “No one should believe it without several lines of corroborating evidence, and this is just one.”
So, the search for dark matter continues. Whether future studies confirm or debunk Totani’s findings remains to be seen, but either way, they will help researchers refine our understanding of the invisible matter that shapes our universe.
