Very light boson particles are a new type of subatomic particle that scientists have proposed as a compelling alternative to dark matter. But these very light particles, if they exist, are difficult to detect because their mass is very small and they rarely interact with another substance, this is one of the important properties that dark matter has
Gravitational waves are cosmic ripples in the fabric of space and time that result from catastrophic events such as collisions with black holes and neutron stars – the cores of massive super-giant stars that have collapsed. Highly sensitive gravitational wave detectors on Earth, such as the advanced Virgo and Ligo detectors, have successfully observed dozens of gravitational wave signals, and are also used to search for dark matter: a hypothetical form of matter that is said to make up 85% of all matter in the universe. Dark matter is matter that cannot be seen directly, but we know it exists because of the effect it has on objects that we can observe directly. The dark matter may be composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, so they cannot be detected by observing electromagnetic radiation.
Very light boson particles are a new type of subatomic particle that scientists have proposed as a compelling alternative to dark matter. But these very light particles, if they exist, are difficult to detect because their mass is very small and they rarely interact with another substance, this is one of the important properties that dark matter has.
The discovery of gravitational waves allows for a new approach to the discovery of these very light boson particles through gravity. Scientists speculate that if there are certain very light boson particles near a rapidly spinning black hole, the very large gravitational field causes the particles to trap around the black hole and form a cloud. This phenomenon can create gravitational waves with a very long lifespan. By searching for the signals of these gravitational waves, scientists will finally be able to find these elusive boson particles, if they do exist, and perhaps solve the mystery of the dark matter or rule out the existence of some of the other types of particles proposed.
In a recent international study in collaboration with the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration, one of whose leading researchers is Dr. Lily Sun, a fellow researcher at OzGrav from the National University of Australia, a team of scientists conducted the world’s first search across the sky to find Gali signals These predicted gravitational pulls of boson clouds near rapidly spinning black holes.
“Gravity wave science has opened up a whole new opening for the study of basic physics. It provides direct information about mysterious compressed objects in the universe like black holes and neutron stars, and also allows us to look for new particles and dark matter,” says Dr. Sun.
Although no signal was detected, the research team was able to draw valuable conclusions about the possible presence of these clouds in our galaxy. In analysis they also took into account that the strength of a gravitational wave signal depends on the age of the boson cloud: the boson cloud shrinks as it loses energy by sending gravitational waves, so the strength of the gravitational wave signal decreases as the cloud ages.
“We learned that a certain type of boson cloud that is less than a thousand years old is unlikely to exist anywhere in our galaxy, whereas such clouds that are up to 10 million years old are unlikely to exist up to 3260 light-years from Earth,” says Dr. Sun.
The article is signed by about 1,600 researchers.
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