Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Thursday August 22 2019, @11:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the mondo-nono dept.

From New Atlas

Although it outnumbers regular matter by a ratio of five to one, dark matter is frustratingly elusive. Many experiments have been and are being run to try to hunt down different types of candidate particles, but so far no direct trace has been found of any of them. Now, researchers from Max Planck have proposed a new hypothetical particle that might be behind dark matter – the superheavy gravitino – and outlined just how we might find them.

As far back as the 1930s, astronomers began to notice that galaxies are moving much faster than they should be, based on the mass we could see. Calculations led to the conclusion that there must be far more mass out there that we couldn't see, and this hypothetical invisible stuff became known as dark matter.

[...] But what's particularly interesting is that if superheavy gravitinos are real, we could find traces of them using the Earth itself as a giant detector. After all, we're bound to have had plenty of them pass through the planet in the last 4.5 billion years. And if they did, they should have left fingerprints behind.

Because superheavy gravitinos would interact with regular matter through the electromagnetic and strong nuclear forces, they could leave ionization tracks in rocks. The problem is, they might be difficult to distinguish from the paths of other particles.

See article abstracts in Physical Review letters and in Physical Review D.


Original Submission

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(1)
  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:07AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:07AM (#883857)

    We've secretly switched Gaaark's coffee with Dark Matter Crystals...

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:12AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:12AM (#883858)

    Do away with the asinine preamble. We know what "dark matter" is - a place holder, correction factor for GR and observed universe.

    The summary tells nothing related to the headline.

    We are nerds. Don't insult our intelligence.

    • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday August 23 2019, @11:36AM (4 children)

      by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday August 23 2019, @11:36AM (#884038)

      > a place holder, correction factor for GR and observed universe.

      Dark matter is the model that best explains the observed data.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @01:25PM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @01:25PM (#884082)

        It isn't even close. Both MOND and QI are much better. Dark matter is really the most pathetic explanation at this point. The only evidence for it after tens of billions of dollars spent assuming it exists is that GR predicts the wrong thing. And dark matter has never been (and never will be) used to predict anything or do anything useful, all you can do is add it in post-hoc.

        • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday August 23 2019, @03:03PM (2 children)

          by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday August 23 2019, @03:03PM (#884141)

          > Both MOND and QI are much better

          I never saw the reference that demonstrated this.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @03:30PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @03:30PM (#884157)

            Well, that is your own fault. Go read some of Stacy McGaugh's papers. And to be clear, being superior to "dark matter" is not difficult. That "theory" is on the level of "god did it". But MOND and QI are much more impressive, one with a single tunable parameter (that has been constant since the model was introduced), the latter with no free parameters. "Dark Matter" has effectively infinite free parameters, it amounts to putting spheroids of invisible mass wherever it is needed.

          • (Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday August 23 2019, @07:34PM

            by Osamabobama (5842) on Friday August 23 2019, @07:34PM (#884315)

            Here's a good link for QI [youtube.com]. I'm unfamiliar with the other one.

            --
            Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
    • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Friday August 23 2019, @06:12PM

      by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Friday August 23 2019, @06:12PM (#884272)

      We are nerds. Don't insult our intelligence

      this isn't the "News for nerds" site. Nerds and Geeks with an interest in physics and astronomy are not the only ones who read SN.

      Just because you know something doesn't mean everyone does, remember that old saying about "Assume"?

      --
      "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:43AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:43AM (#883870)

    Marianne Williamson finally has all she needs to defeat the dark forces. Using dark matter sealed inside power crystals she can transform into the ultimate form of consciousness!

  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 23 2019, @12:46AM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 23 2019, @12:46AM (#883871) Journal

    the Cheshire cat could be stalking you, right now!

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by deimtee on Friday August 23 2019, @04:03AM

      by deimtee (3272) on Friday August 23 2019, @04:03AM (#883909) Journal

      You can escape The Cheshire Cat with this One Weird Trick.

      --
      If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:55AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:55AM (#883874)

    Although it outnumbers regular matter by a ratio of five to one, dark matter is frustratingly elusive.

    Would not be better to admit it was wrong step to remove an expression representing the field torsion from the original Newton's theory?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @01:13AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @01:13AM (#883881)

      I thought that phlogiston handled it pretty well.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @04:05AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @04:05AM (#883910)

        Maybe the æther isn't massless.

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @05:12AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @05:12AM (#883927)

    of....Let's all make up some more dumb shit particle physicists are going to try and pass off as real science to further their descent down this rabbit hole. Energy, frequency, and waves ya'll! Get in where you fit in! We stand on the shoulders of giants...as the saying goes. So, one of those "giants" fucked up the math. I would postulate that a reworking of the math (or suppositions) might fix this rapid rabbit hole idea that will never turn out to be true. There I said it! So did Tesla...More and more people are saying it too! There seems to be a fundamental flaw in the current physics model and I think that we can fix it with the proper motivation. Current political motivation is not there so we wait patiently! Good Luck particle physicists!! (flat earth equivalent....)

    • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Friday August 23 2019, @12:21PM

      by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday August 23 2019, @12:21PM (#884062)

      > I would postulate that a reworking of the math (or suppositions) might fix this rapid rabbit hole idea that will never turn out to be true.

      Thanks, AC. I will phone the nobel prize committee, once you post that reworked math. Here is fine, or arxiv.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:48PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @12:48PM (#884072)

      #DarkMatterMatters

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 24 2019, @05:29AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 24 2019, @05:29AM (#884587)

        #DarkMatterLives

  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday August 24 2019, @02:21AM (13 children)

    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday August 24 2019, @02:21AM (#884508) Journal

    Someday it will be found that dark matter doesn't exist and everyone will have a good laugh and they'll hopefully rewrite a few Star Trek Discovery episodes, as well as finding that what Einstein got wrong was that gravity ISN'T caused by the warping of space (and time) and all the problems with that warping will go away and physicists will be able to see more clearly.

    Space is NOT warped, time is NOT warped (no...time travel is NOT possible), and dark matter does NOT exist.

    Yes, I will be proved correct one day; someday. I just hope I live long enough to see it.

    And yes: Einstein is my God. But all god's have flaws.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 24 2019, @08:00AM (12 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 24 2019, @08:00AM (#884621)

      So what do you think is correct, if not General Relativity? The QI you rattle on about does not seem to disagree with GR, but rather the mass parameter people put in it. In addition, how do you explain the observed time dilation effects?

      • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday August 24 2019, @11:40AM (11 children)

        by Gaaark (41) on Saturday August 24 2019, @11:40AM (#884675) Journal

        " In addition, how do you explain the observed time dilation effects?"

        I. don't. know.

        But then, how does Einstein explain why glasses don't unbreak as often as they break? Why CAN'T we travel backwards through time as easily as we travel as we do?

        Something is wrong and my mind wants to explore other theories to maybe find EXACTLY WHAT is wrong: I don't want to just blindly say "Ah! Dark matter hand waving magic!" whenever I see a problem.

        Something IS wrong....but...what? That is what I'd love to see solved before I die and I don't think it will come from saying"Einstein is INFALLIBLE...let's believe in magical unicorn things in order to make sure he IS infallible."

        Something IS wrong.

        --
        --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
        • (Score: 2) by rylyeh on Saturday August 24 2019, @05:27PM (1 child)

          by rylyeh (6726) <reversethis-{moc.liamg} {ta} {htadak}> on Saturday August 24 2019, @05:27PM (#884826)
          --
          "a vast crenulate shell wherein rode the grey and awful form of primal Nodens, Lord of the Great Abyss."
          • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:45PM

            by Gaaark (41) on Saturday August 24 2019, @06:45PM (#884854) Journal

            Interesting.

            Will have to take a closer look!

            --
            --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @08:12AM (8 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @08:12AM (#885106)

          The glasses shattering is explained by thermodynamics and entropy, among other things, and I'm pretty sure that is what Einstein would say if he were still alive. There are also theories as to why only goes forwards, such as entropy, weak conservation violations, and quantum uncertainty.

          But you were the one that said that space and time did not "warp." This is despite the curvature of space time being observed through gravitational lensing of light and gravity "waves." In addition, time dilation is a measured phenomenon that affect deep-space probes and satellites in orbit. That is why most theories that deal with this stuff, like QI, dark matter, and MOND keep curved space-time and GR around with relatively minor tweaks. The former has been directly observed and the latter best explains most observations and reference frames we are aware of. Just like how SR and GR made relatively minor tweaks to Newton's Theory of Gravity.

          No one is saying Einstein is some holy Saint that can never be wrong. In fact, the rotation of galaxies aren't the only phenomenon that modern GR can't explain. When there is evidence to do so, they will change it, just like they did to Newton. There just isn't any big paradigm-shifting evidence yet for any theory. If there were, then alternatives wouldn't be taken seriously, and, trust me, there are a lot of alternatives some of which you'd probably recognize by name if you looked them up. But real science uses evidence, not feelings.

          • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday August 25 2019, @10:15AM (7 children)

            by Gaaark (41) on Sunday August 25 2019, @10:15AM (#885125) Journal

            "But real science uses evidence, not feelings."

            THAT is my problem with dark matter, though: dark matter came about because"Einstein can't be wrong, so...DM" and is wholly unscientific. Dark matter is magic to make the problem disappear.

            GR does, yes, have problems. That IS the problem: I just don't like seeing problems being solved with unicorns.

            I am not a physicist: just a curious guy who doesn't believe in magical things like DM.

            --
            --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
            • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @03:32AM (6 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @03:32AM (#885489)

              For as much confidence as you have, you really need to do some reading before dismissing something as "magical" or as some sort of unassailable canon. There is more evidence for dark matter than just Einstein can't be wrong. The Bullet Cluster X-ray anomalies can only be fully explained by the existence of dark matter, rather than non-local forms of gravity. Then there is the observed energy density of the universe. And there are redshift distortions, and the cosmic microwave background together with the structure of the universe, and lensing, and more. Before preaching that the physicists who do this daily and actually know about the above and more are the ones who are somehow wrong in their beliefs and the analysis, maybe you should learn about it yourself.

              Hell, your own claim is wrong. GR has been modified since Einstein made it, not the least of which is removing the cosmological constant, the Reissner–Nordstroem solution, black holes, and the Kerr-Newman solution, to name the major ones.

              • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday August 26 2019, @09:12PM (2 children)

                by Gaaark (41) on Monday August 26 2019, @09:12PM (#885809) Journal

                Then by ALL means, waste your time looking for DM. See f I care! I'm betting you DON'T find it.

                --
                --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @05:37AM (1 child)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @05:37AM (#885964)

                  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/508162 [iop.org] at the 8 sigma level too.

                  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday August 29 2019, @09:14PM

                    by Gaaark (41) on Thursday August 29 2019, @09:14PM (#887494) Journal

                    From 2006 even!
                    Hey! PROOF it exists!

                    So why does there still remain doubt of its existence?

                    WAIT! They say why themselves!
                    " A final possibility is that some alternative gravity models may be able to suppress the lensing potential of the central peak in a multiple-peak system"
                    So, there is proof DM exists, unless it ... doesn't? It does not exist if there is some other reason it doesn't (such as QI!)!

                    Huh!

                    I'll maintain my bet, thank you very much.

                    --
                    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
              • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday August 29 2019, @09:29PM (2 children)

                by Gaaark (41) on Thursday August 29 2019, @09:29PM (#887503) Journal

                "The Bullet Cluster X-ray anomalies can only be fully explained by the existence of dark matter."

                https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-pdf/382/1/29/3057374/mnras0382-0029.pdf [oup.com]
                shows it CAN e explained by other reasons.

                "Before preaching that the physicists who do this daily and actually know about the above and more are the ones who are somehow wrong in their beliefs and the analysis, maybe you should learn about it yourself."

                RIGHT back at you, Mr Physicist who does this daily.

                --
                --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 30 2019, @06:32PM (1 child)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 30 2019, @06:32PM (#887854)

                  That model doesn't properly account for the gravitational lensing: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/591246/meta [iop.org]

                  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday August 31 2019, @03:17AM

                    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday August 31 2019, @03:17AM (#888077) Journal

                    Well, at least you're in 2008!

                    So, why is there STILL doubt about DM if its been PROVEN to exist?

                    Because there is no proof and it will never be found.

                    Bet is still on.

                    --
                    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(1)