Studying an atomic clock on-board a spacecraft inside the orbit of Mercury and very near to the Sun might be the trick to uncovering the nature of dark matter, suggests a new study published in Nature Astronomy. Dark matter makes up more than 80 percent of mass in the universe, but it has so far
A groundbreaking new study published insuggests that studying an atomic clock on a spacecraft orbiting close to the Sun, inside the orbit of Mercury, could be the key to unlocking the mysteries of dark matter. The research offers a potentially game-changing approach to understanding this elusive and enigmatic substance that is thought to make up much of the universe.
One important class of experimental searches are those using atoms or nuclei, because these have achieved incredible sensitivity to signals of dark matter. This is possible, in part, because when dark matter particles have very small masses, they induce oscillations in the very constants of nature. These oscillations, for example in the mass of the electron or the interaction strength of the electromagnetic force, modify the transition energies of atoms and nucleii in predictable ways.
“The more dark matter there is around the experiment, the larger these oscillations are, so the local density of dark matter matters a lot when analyzing the signal,” said Eby.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
See Earth from space in stunning footage from Tiangong space stationOur home planet displays its characteristic blue color as China's completed Tiangong space station, adrift high above the planet, appears in the foreground.
Read more »
Jason Blum hopes James Wan can help with a sequel to The Invisible ManThe two horror movie moguls are working on merging their Blumhouse and Atomic Monster studios
Read more »
The Best Images Taken by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022James Webb provided us with incredible images of the cosmos this year.
Read more »
Dothan home listings for people who need a lot of living spaceBrowse Dothan homes over 4,000 square feet in size.
Read more »
The 10 most jaw-dropping space images of 2022Brandon is the space/physics editor at Live Science. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, CBS.com, the Richard Dawkins Foundation website and other outlets. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, with minors in journalism and media arts. He enjoys writing most about space, geoscience and the mysteries of the universe.
Read more »
Space Campers to offer the ultimate convertible Tesla Cybertruck tent - AutoblogSpace Campers shows its modular, $24,000 over-bed tent for the Tesla Cybertruck. There's almost nothing it can't turn into.
Read more »