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Physicists Unveil Pioneering Approach to Crack Dark Matter Puzzle
Physicists Unveil Pioneering Approach to Crack Dark Matter Puzzle
Sputnik International
Researchers have developed an innovative technique that offers hope in understanding the elusive nature of earth-bound dark matter, unlocking its properties... 23.07.2023, Sputnik International
2023-07-23T19:24+0000
2023-07-23T19:24+0000
2023-09-01T13:01+0000
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Physicists around the globe are actively engaged in the quest to detect elusive dark matter (DM) particles and their interactivity with visible matter employing diverse methods and detectors. Due to their non-emissive, non-reflective, and non-absorptive nature of light, examining these particles in conventional experimental processes has proven to be difficult. Scientists affiliated with TRIUMF, the University of Minnesota, the University of California Berkeley, and Stanford University unveiled a new process for uncovering the impenetrable particles that challenge the standard model.This pioneering approach, detailed in a Physical Review Letters publication, centers on identifying distinct signals arising from the conversion of dark matter into visible matter using large neutrino detectors.Ray expressed that the main question was how to find these abundant DM particles in the Earth-volume. He acknowledged how challenging it can be to detect them due to the size of their energy, which is very small---about 0.03 electron volts (eV)---making it nearly impossible to spot them using the traditional direct detection methods. These experiments are not designed to detect such low-energy particles, but, Ray added that they are developing new and innovative methods to detect these DM particles.Rather than try to find indications of DM particle dispersal, which has been the approach in most direct detection efforts, Ray and his fellow physicists suggested a different method: they proposed looking for signals that result from the annihilation of DM particles. This occurs when DM particles collide with other particles and are completely destroyed, releasing energy.Unlike scattering signals, which typically involve little kinetic energy, annihilation signals are not constrained by such limitations making them easier to search for and be found.Researchers think that there are lots of dark matter particles here on Earth. They suggest trying to find them by looking for clues of their disappearance inside large neutrino detectors like Super-Kamiokande. This big Cherenkov detector is situated beneath a mountain in Japan and is used to study neutrinos from different places like the sun and supernovae.Ray further explained that if dark matter particles inside the Super-Kamiokande detector combine and disappear, they leave noticeable signs. Super-Kamiokande can easily look for these signs and gain valuable information about dark matter properties. Even if these dark matter particles are only a small portion of all dark matter, this method can still give researchers the best chance to understand their characteristics and behavior.This team of scientists has developed a novel approach to studying dark matter particles that interact strongly on Earth. These particles are considered abundant, but they have been challenging to observe. Even though they form only a small portion of all dark matter, this innovative technique promises great potential and could greatly contribute to the search for dark matter.As the DM gets heavier and concentrates towards the Earth's center, its number density inside the Super-Kamiokande volume decreases, leading to a faint signal, but there is hope to explore the heavy DM parameter space using the neutrino signal.
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dark matter, neutrino detectors, earth-bound dm, particle physics, dm annihilation, super-kamiokande, dark matter properties, innovative detection methods
dark matter, neutrino detectors, earth-bound dm, particle physics, dm annihilation, super-kamiokande, dark matter properties, innovative detection methods
Physicists Unveil Pioneering Approach to Crack Dark Matter Puzzle
19:24 GMT 23.07.2023 (Updated: 13:01 GMT 01.09.2023) Researchers have developed an innovative technique that offers hope in understanding the elusive nature of earth-bound dark matter, unlocking its properties and behavior.
Physicists around the globe are actively engaged in the quest to detect elusive dark matter (DM) particles and their interactivity with visible matter employing diverse methods and detectors. Due to their non-emissive, non-reflective, and non-absorptive nature of light, examining these particles in conventional experimental processes has proven to be difficult.
Scientists affiliated with TRIUMF, the University of Minnesota, the University of California Berkeley, and Stanford University unveiled a new process for uncovering the impenetrable
particles that challenge the standard model.
This pioneering approach, detailed in a
Physical Review Letters publication, centers on identifying distinct signals arising from the conversion of
dark matter into visible matter using large neutrino detectors.
"Earth-bound DM (DM particles that are being trapped in the Earth via collisions with Earth's constituents) that interacts sufficiently strongly with the ordinary baryonic matter can have a tantalizingly large density, almost 15 orders of magnitude larger than the Galactic DM density (~ 0.3 GeV/cm3)," Anupam Ray, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told a science outlet.
Ray expressed that the main question was how to find these abundant DM particles in the Earth-volume. He acknowledged how challenging it can be to detect them due to the size of their energy, which is very small---about 0.03 electron volts (eV)---making it nearly impossible to spot them using the traditional direct detection methods. These experiments are not designed to detect such low-energy particles, but, Ray added that they are developing new and innovative methods to detect these DM particles.
Rather than try to find indications of DM particle dispersal, which has been the approach in most direct detection efforts, Ray and his fellow physicists suggested a different method: they proposed looking for signals that result from the annihilation of DM particles. This occurs when DM particles collide with other particles and are completely destroyed, releasing energy.
Unlike scattering signals, which typically involve little kinetic energy, annihilation signals are not constrained by such limitations making them easier to search for and be found.
Researchers think that there are lots of dark matter particles here on Earth. They suggest trying to find them by looking for clues of their disappearance inside large neutrino detectors like Super-Kamiokande. This big Cherenkov detector is situated beneath a mountain in Japan and is used to study neutrinos from different places like the sun and supernovae.
"Earth-bound DMs that interact strongly with ordinary baryonic matter are copiously present inside any large volume neutrino detectors, such as Super-Kamiokande," Ray noted.
Ray further explained that if dark matter particles inside the Super-Kamiokande detector combine and disappear, they leave noticeable signs. Super-Kamiokande can easily look for these signs and gain valuable information about dark matter properties. Even if these dark matter particles are only a small portion of all dark matter, this method can still give researchers the best chance to understand their characteristics and behavior.
This team of scientists has developed a novel approach to studying dark matter particles that interact strongly on Earth. These particles are considered abundant, but they have been challenging to observe. Even though they form only a small portion of all dark matter, this innovative technique promises great potential and could greatly contribute to the search for dark matter.
"We now want to explore the neutrino signatures from strongly interacting Earth-bound DM. In this study, we are not sensitive to a relatively heavy DM mass (say DM mass of 10 GeV or more)," Ray added.
As the DM gets heavier and concentrates towards the Earth's center, its number density inside the Super-Kamiokande volume decreases, leading to a faint signal, but there is hope to explore the heavy DM parameter space using the neutrino signal.
