dark matter tagged posts

Shedding New Light on Dark Matter

An artist’s rendition of big bang nucleosynthesis, the early universe period in which protons “p” and neutrons “n” combine to form light elements. The presence of dark matter “χ” changes how much of each element will form. Image courtesy of Cara Giovanetti/New York University

Analysis offers new means to predict ‘cosmological signatures’ for models of dark matter. A team of physicists has developed a method for predicting the composition of dark matter – invisible matter detected only by its gravitational pull on ordinary matter and whose discovery has been long sought by scientists.

Its work, which appears in the journal Physical Review Letters, centers on predicting “cosmological signatures” for models of dark matter with a mass between that of the electron and the proton...

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Are Black Holes and Dark Matter the same?

“Black holes of different sizes are still a mystery,” Hasinger explained. “We don’t understand how supermassive black holes could have grown so huge in the relatively short time available since the universe existed.”

Proposing an alternative model for how the universe came to be, a team of astrophysicists suggests that all black holes — from those as tiny as a pin head to those covering billions of miles — were created instantly after the Big Bang and account for all dark matter.

That’s the implication of a study by astrophysicists at the University of Miami, Yale University, and the European Space Agency that suggests that black holes have existed since the beginning of the universe and that these primordial black holes could be as-of-yet unexplained dark matter...

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New Algorithm may help Autonomous Vehicles Navigate Narrow, crowded streets

A CMU team developed a algorithm that could help an autonomous vehicle safely and efficiently navigate narrow, crowded streets like this one.

Autonomous vehicle researchers have tackled navigating a crowded, narrow street, with cars parked on both sides, and not enough space for vehicles traveling in both directions to pass each other. It is a scenario familiar to anyone who has driven down a crowded, narrow street. Parked cars line both sides, and there isn’t enough space for vehicles traveling in both directions to pass each other. One has to duck into a gap in the parked cars or slow and pull over as far as possible for the other to squeeze by.

Drivers find a way to negotiate this, but not without close calls and frustration...

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Dark Matter is Slowing the Spin of the Milky Way’s Galactic Bar

artist's conception of the Milky Way

For 30 years, astrophysicists have predicted such a slowdown, but this is the first time it has been measured. The researchers say it gives a new type of insight into the nature of dark matter, which acts like a counterweight slowing the spin.

The spin of the Milky Way’s galactic bar, which is made up of billions of clustered stars, has slowed by about a quarter since its formation, according to a new study by researchers at University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford.

For 30 years, astrophysicists have predicted such a slowdown, but this is the first time it has been measured.

The researchers say it gives a new type of insight into the nature of dark matter, which acts like a counterweight slowing the spin.

In the study, published in the Monthly Notices o...

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