Dark matter researchers may be at the peak of a major breakthrough in their search for the most elusive object in the universe, as they reveal new ways to locate a potential dark matter candidate – boson clouds.

It is said that about 85% of all matter in the universe is represented by dark matter, although no one has proven this to be the case. It is precisely considered “dark” because it is invisible, does not interact with any known type of radiation, and has escaped from all known detection methods so far. However, scientists can see the effect of dark matter on the entire universe, and they have put forward several theories that could one day solve the cosmic mystery. One such theory is the existence of so-called boson clouds orbiting black holes.

Bosons are a class of subatomic particles that are incredibly light and difficult to detect on Earth.

But a team of researchers in Australia, in collaboration with LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA, has proposed a new way to detect clouds of these particles using gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of space-time.

And in a new study, it was previously released on the server arXivIn this study, researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) have teamed up with LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA to search for gravitational waves generated by potential boson clouds near fast-rotating black holes.

Their study has been described as the world’s first comprehensive celestial study designed to search for this particular event.

Dr. Lilly Sun of the ANU Center for Gravitational Astronomy said: ‘It is almost impossible to find the lightest bosons on Earth. Particles have very small masses and rarely interact with other substances – one of the most important properties. Dark matter appears to exist. Subject matter is invisible, but we know that dark matter exists because of its impact on observable objects. Our search may also allow for the rejection of some lighter bosons that may or may not have our theories. “

If these bosonic clouds were present, gravity-wave detectors on Earth would be able to pick up their own gravitational signals.

Even though these events occur billions of light years away, inventors like LIGO have already detected gravitational waves colliding in black holes.

“Gravitational wave discoveries not only provide information about mysterious compact objects in the universe, such as black holes and neutron stars, but also allow the search for new particles and dark matter,” Sun said. “Future gravitational wave discoverers will certainly open up. As far as possible, we can reach deeper. For example, the discovery of boson clouds using gravitational wave detection tools will bring key insights into dark matter and lead to further searches for dark matter. Size. Wide.”

This study sheds new light on the possibility of the presence of bosonic clouds in the Milky Way by taking into account their age.

Dr. According to the Sun, the strength of the gravitational wave coming from the boson cloud depends on the age of the cloud – as it ages, the signal weakens.

“The boson cloud shrinks because it loses its energy by sending gravitational waves,” he said. “Some kind of boson clouds less than 1,000 years old are unlikely to be found anywhere in our galaxy, while up to 10 million clouds are likely to be years old on Earth.” It is about 3,260 light-years from Earth.

Source: Express

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