ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Proof of dark matter?

Updated on December 15, 2014
3d dark matter representation
3d dark matter representation | Source

Mysterious signal

Swiss and Dutch scientists have discovered with the help of X-rays, after decades of intense research, a mysterious signal that could prove that dark matter exists in the Universe.

Dark matter represents the invisible substance which, according to scientists, makes out most of the Universe, the visible matter being only 20% of its total mass.

Although the scientist could observe the dark matter indirectly, analyzing its gravitational effects over visible matter, they haven’t been able to get tangible proof to certify its existence until this study.

This week, scientists from Sweden and Holland have announced that they detected a signal which marks the dark matter particles decomposition.

Studying the signal

During the study, scientists have analyzed X-rays emitted by two celestial formations: Perseus cluster – a cluster of galaxies at about 250 million light years away from Earth - and the “sister” of the Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 million light years away.The study was made using data collected from XMN-Newton telescope, operated by the ESA (European Space Agency), which detected a mysterious “anomaly” that could not have been emitted by any other known particle.

The same anomaly detected in X-ray emissions was also identified by a team of scientists from Harvard in July; they announced the detection of the mentioned anomaly in the data collected from 70 galaxy clusters.

“This minor excess (a few hundred extra photons) was interpreted as an emission which has its origin in the extremely rare phenomenon of dark matter particles decomposition”, stated researcher Alexey Boyarsky, physics professor at the University of Leiden Holland, and coordinator of the new study. “Although the signal is very weak, it passed the numerous check points test”, he added.

The signal is concentrated in the center and weaker at the edges of the galaxy clusters Andromeda and Perseus, exactly like the scientist expected. The study coordinator unraveled the fact that his team detected a signal with the same wavelength, which comes from our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

Professor Boyarsky believes that these signals are produced by the dark matter particles decomposition, possibly from the emissions generated by a special particle: “Sterile Neutrinos”; it is a hypothetical particle, which is 100th part of an electron in size.

The study will be published next week in the magazine: “Physical Review Letters”

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)