In a new paper, researchers from Durham University and Kings College London give a theoretical evaluation that supports the search for axion dark matter.
One of the
main unresolved mysteries in particle physics is the identity of dark matter,
which accounts up 85 percent of all stuff in the universe.
Scientists
know it exists because of its gravitational pull on stars and galaxies, but
they don't know what kind of particle it is.
The
researchers looked at how axions may be mathematically represented and how they
connect to the Standard Model of particle physics' fundamental symmetries.
The axion
explains why the strong interaction, which holds quarks in protons and neutrons
together, defies time reversal symmetry. This means that if the direction of
time were reversed, the processes generated by the strong contact would seem
the same at the subatomic level.
It's still
a mystery why the strong interaction follows time reversal symmetry. A popular
solution to this puzzle is the axion.
Axion dark
matter behaves more like a field than individual particles, encompassing the
entire universe. The axion field's value begins to bounce back and forth
throughout the early universe. Axion dark matter stores the energy in these
oscillations.
Scientists
know that dark matter of any kind can only interact with light in a very feeble
way, or else it would have been discovered by now. Axion dark matter interacts
with light very weakly, but astronomers may be able to discover indications of
this interaction if they look closely at telescope data.
A photon
(a particle of light) moving through a magnetic field, for example, has a tiny
chance of becoming an axion. This technique might result in strange
characteristics in galaxies glowing via magnetic fields observed through
telescopes.
The
study's full analysis was published in Science Advances. Yannis Semertzidis and
SungWoo Youn's review paper "Axion Dark Matter: How to See It?"
describes how the axion could be identified in the lab shortly.
Dr. Francesca Chadha-Day, a study co-author, said: "Being an axion physicist at this time is quite thrilling. Dark matter's identity is yet unknown. We aim to unravel this issue one day by looking into many options, such as the axion."
The
authors believe that by publishing this review, the broader community of
physicists and scientists will become more interested in and knowledgeable
about axion physics.
References:
- Francesca Chadha-Day et al, Axion dark matter: What is it and why now?, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj3618. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj3618
- Yannis K. Semertzidis et al, Axion dark matter: How to see it?, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm9928. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm9928
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