Last week, a group of Australian scientists presented evidence they say strongly supports ‘dark photons’ - theoretical particles that are the opposite of light.
Dark matter is the fundamental framework that holds our universe together. Without its enormous gravitational pull to bring order to gas and dust, there would be no stars and no planets. Of this, scientists are sure.They are left to theorise and imagine. Perhaps dark matter is a giant ghost particle? Or a collection of black holes?KIPAC/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
A mathematical proof at that level “constitutes evidence for a particle discovery,” said Anthony Thomas, professor of physics at the University of Adelaide. “If this could be confirmed – and we think we’ve got a very strong hint – this would be a major step forward.”Professor Geraint Lewis, who studies dark matter at the University of Sydney said: “I think most physicists would say we need a bit more – even though 6.5 sigma is one of the things that get you out of bed in the morning.
You could have dark atoms and dark molecules. And if you had dark atoms, perhaps you’d have the dark universe equivalent to light and electricity? If so, you’d need a particle to power it: the dark photon.“It might provide a connection,” said Thomas, “a portal between the world we live in and the dark matter world we know is there.”
But when you add a dark photon into the equation, and allow it to give the muon a slight nudge, suddenly the math works perfectly.“You add this missing piece. It’s a very simple way of adding. It could explain some of this discrepancy,” said Professor Elisabetta Barberio, director of the Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics., Thomas and a team of researchers scrutinised data from experiments where particle accelerators smash protons with electrons and muons.
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