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Case for Axion Origin of Dark Matter Gains Traction

posted by martyb on Saturday June 27 2020, @10:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the what's-the-matter? dept.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Case for axion origin of dark matter gains traction:

The existence of dark matter has been confirmed by several independent observations, but its true identity remains a mystery. According to this study, axion velocity provides a key insight into the dark matter puzzle. Previous research efforts have successfully accounted for the abundance of dark matter in the universe; however certain factors, such as the underproduction of axions with stronger ordinary matter interactions, remained unexplored.

By assigning a nonzero initial velocity to the axion field, the team discovered a mechanism—termed kinetic misalignment—producing far more axions in the early universe than conventional mechanisms. The motion, generated by breaking of the axion shift symmetry, significantly modifies the conventional computation of the axion dark matter abundance. Additionally, these dynamics allow axion dark matter to react more strongly with ordinary matter, exceeding the prediction of the conventional misalignment mechanism.

"The extensive literature on the axion was built upon the assumption that the axion field is initially static in the early universe," stated Keisuke Harigaya of the Institute for Advanced Study. "Instead, we discovered that the axion field may be initially dynamic as a consequence of theories of quantum gravity with axions."

Journal Reference:
Raymond T. Co, Lawrence J. Hall, Keisuke Harigaya. Axion Kinetic Misalignment Mechanism [open], Physical Review Letters (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.251802)

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 27 2020, @02:37PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 27 2020, @02:37PM (#1013250)

    Where is this confirmation?

    Go do your own homework. Start with wikipedia's [wikipedia.org] citation list:

    EXISTENCE AND NATURE OF DARK MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE [escholarship.org]
    Planck Mission Brings Universe Into Sharp Focus [nasa.gov]
    Dark Energy, Dark Matter [nasa.gov]
    Collection of all Planck Mission publications [esa.int]
    Planck captures portrait of the young Universe, revealing earliest light [cam.ac.uk]:

    Planck gives us the most accurate values yet for ingredients that make up the Universe. Normal matter - stars and galaxies - contributes just 4.9% of the mass/energy density of the Universe. Dark matter, which has thus far only been detected indirectly by its gravitational influence, makes up 26.8%, nearly a fifth more than previously estimated. Conversely, dark energy, a mysterious force thought to be responsible for accelerating the expansion of the Universe, accounts for slightly less than previously thought, at around 69%.

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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday June 28 2020, @02:35PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Sunday June 28 2020, @02:35PM (#1013673) Journal

    "We are much more certain what dark matter is not than we are what it is."
    ---https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/

    Yup!
    Absolute confirmation! You are soooooooooo right and I am soooooooooo wrong!

    Dark matter is a kludge to save GR: nothing less, nothing more. I want REAL proof, not Myron the Magnificent.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---