Dark matter: one last push to crack the biggest secret in the universe
Scientists are pinning hopes on elaborate detectors to track the elusive material that holds galaxies together
Robin McKie, Science Editor
Sun 8 Aug 2021 03.15 EDT
Deep underground, scientists are closing in on one of the most elusive targets of modern science: dark matter. In subterranean laboratories in the US and Italy, they have set up huge vats of liquid xenon and lined them with highly sensitive detectors in the hope of spotting subatomic collisions that will reveal the presence of this elusive material.
However, researchers acknowledge that the current generation of detectors are reaching the limit of their effectiveness and warn that if they fail to detect dark matter with these types of machines, they could be forced to completely reappraise their understanding of the cosmos.
“Dark matter accounts for around 85% of all the universe’s mass but we have not been able to detect it so far – despite building more and more powerful detectors,” said physicist Professor Chamkaur Ghag of University College London. “We are now getting close to the limits of our detectors and if they do not find dark matter in the next few years, we may have to accept there is something very wrong with the way we think about the universe and about gravity.”
The hunt for dark matter began last century when astronomers found that galaxies appeared to be rotating too quickly to remain stable. Observations indicated they must have masses 10 times greater than their visible contents – stars, planets and dust clouds – otherwise they would tear themselves apart.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/aug/08/dark-matter-one-last-push-to-crack-the-biggest-secret-in-the-universe
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