2023-07-06 14:22:22
MADRID, 6 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Cosmologists have discovered that observations of gravitational waves from merging black holes may reveal the true nature of dark matter.
The team used computer simulations to study the production of gravitational wave signals in simulated universes with different types of dark matter. Their findings show that counting the number of black hole merger events detected by the next generation of observatories could tell us whether or not dark matter interacts with other particlesgiving us new insights into what it is made of.
Cosmologists generally consider dark matter to be one of the biggest missing pieces in our understanding of the cosmos. Despite strong evidence that dark matter makes up 85% of all matter in the Universe, there is currently no consensus on its underlying nature. This includes questions such as whether dark matter particles can collide with other particles, such as atoms or neutrinos, or pass directly through them unaffected.
One way to test this is to look at how galaxies form in dense clouds of dark matter called halos. If dark matter collides with neutrinos, the dark matter structure is scattered, resulting in fewer galaxies forming. The problem with this method is that the disappearing galaxies are very small and very distant from us, so it’s hard to see if they’re there or not, even with the best telescopes available.
Instead of targeting missing galaxies directly, the authors of this study propose using gravitational waves as an indirect measure of their abundance. Their simulations show that in models where dark matter collides with other particles, there are significantly fewer black hole mergers in the distant Universe. While this effect is too small to be seen by current gravitational wave experiments, it will be a primary goal for the next generation of observatories currently being planned.
The authors hope that their methods will help stimulate new ideas for using gravitational wave data to explore the large-scale structure of the Universe and shed new light on the mysterious nature of dark matter.
Co-author Dr Sownak Bose from Durham University said it’s a statement: “Dark matter remains one of the enduring mysteries in our understanding of the Universe. This means that it is especially important to continue to identify new ways to explore dark matter models, combining new and existing probes to test model predictions to the fullest. The Gravitational wave astronomy offers a path to better understand not only dark matter, but also galaxy formation and evolution in general.”
The findings are presented in the National Astronomical Meeting British 2023 in Cardiff.
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