Scientists May Have Cracked the Code for Finding Dark Matter

• Axions are the most powerful hypothesis to explain dark matter, but physicists have not been able to confirm their existence for nearly 50 years.
• A new study now suggests that axions should form visible clouds around neutron stars because of their incredible energy.
• The authors say they are already working on new research that examines how these fictitious axion clouds might affect the behavior of neutron stars.

Today, most scientists believe that 85 percent of the matter in the universe is “dark,” meaning that our current understanding of physics cannot explain its existence. In 1978, two physicists proposed the existence of a very bright particle known as an “axion,” which is called a “detergent” because this particle “cleans up” the mathematical mess seen in the universe.

Almost 50 years later, this theory is still one of the best explanations of dark matter, but these very light particles have never been directly observed. Now a new study from physicists at the University of Amsterdam, Princeton, and Oxford has found the best place to find these infinite particles—neutron stars. The results of their study, a follow-up to a previous study on how these very dense stars repel axions, have been published in the journal. Physical Examination X.

Neutron stars are among the most powerful celestial bodies in the known universe, perhaps second only to black holes. A bag of these dead stars can pack the mass of our Sun into a package 12 to 15 kilometers across – the diameter of the Sun is 1.4 million miles compared. Because scientists believe that axions can turn into light (and vice versa) when exposed to gravity, this has led physicists to wonder what these dead, gravitationally bound stars might be. billions of times more than what is found on Earth, it can be reproduced. the basis for this imaginary part.

The authors’ previous work focused on how these particles escaped from neutron stars and showed what paths they would take on that interstellar journey, but this new study focuses on particles that the rest. Because axions are believed to have very weak interactions with other particles (which is why they have not been found so far), they may attach to a neutron star in large numbers. In fact, there may be so many that they eventually form thick clouds that are at least worth seeing. Researchers estimate that the concentration of axions should be twenty times greater than that of dark space, which leads to a visible signature.

“We … have shown that axion clouds, for a large number of axions and axion-photon couplings, will produce radio emission through resonant axion-photon coupling,” the physicists said. said the paper. “These signatures are not only unique, but also general in nature, independent of the distribution of axions in the Universe.”

This study focuses on single neutron stars, but it is very common for these objects to be locked into binaries with other objects, either other neutron stars or black holes, so further development of this theory will need to include these other permissions if physicists. hoping to cast a wider net. And according to the press release, the authors are already working to find out how these axion clouds can affect the behavior of the neuron stars themselves.

Nearly 50 years after their theoretical discovery, scientists are still longing for proof of detection, but now they have somewhere to look.

Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his past stuff on Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.