Dark Matter: Scientists May Finally Have "Seen" It

[Fanghawk]

Dark Matter: Scientists May Finally Have "Seen" It

Researchers may have uncovered a way to observe dark matter thanks to a discovery involving X-ray emissions.

Anyone with a passing knowledge of space and astrononmy has heard of dark matter, a material believed to account for most of the known universe. We say "believed" because technically it hasn't been observed; the only reason we know it exists is because of gravitational effects on nearby objects, but otherwise it's completely invisible to light. But a major discovery this week suggests that invisibility doesn't extend to X-Ray emissions, which scientists may finally have used to detect dark matter in the universe.

It all happened when astronomers were reviewing data collected by the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton spacecraft and noticed a spike in X-Ray emissions. The anomaly came from two celestial objects - the Andromeda galaxy and Perseus galaxy cluster specifically - but didn't correspond to any known particle or atom. What the researchers did notice, however, was that it lined up perfectly with the theoretical behaviors of dark matter, allowing us to finally "see" it for the first time.

"With the goal of verifying our findings," said Alexey Boyarsky of Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, "we then looked at data from our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and made the same observations."

If the EPFL's findings hold up, this has huge implications for future astronomy research. Our current picture of space accounts for dark matter tangentially since we can't actually see it. But Boyarksy thinks it might be possible to develop technology to observe it directly, which could vastly change our perceptions of outer space.

"Confirmation of this discovery may lead to construction of new telescopes specially designed for studying the signals from dark matter particles," Boyarsky explain. "We will know where to look in order to trace dark structures in space and will be able to reconstruct how the universe has formed."

That also sounds handy if we <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119649-Warp-Drive-Might-Actually-Be-Possible>ever get warp technology off the ground and need to chart a path around dark matter, but I'm probably getting ahead of myself on that score.

Source: <a href=http://arxiv.org/pdf/1402.4119v1.pdf>arXiv, via <a href=http://news.discovery.com/space/galaxies/mysterious-x-ray-signal-could-reveal-dark-matter-141212.htm>Discovery

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[Godhead]

Oh fuck yes, this has got to be one of the coolest things that I've heard about in awhile. Hope that they'll be able to replicate this and confirm it.

 

[Hoplon]

more than tangentially, dark matter is short hand for "fuck if we know what it is"

 

[Kenjitsuka]

Also, this has ENORMOUS consequences for quantum physics, and thus, technology on Earth!

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

I have no idea how to interpret this article. Does this mean we didn't know where dark matter was before? Because if we knew where it was and didn't think to look at its X-Rays, then I feel like someone should get fired. But I guess if we never knew where dark matter was, then I'm confused as to how we detected it at all. But I guess it's nice that we can fnd it now; I guess the next step is figuring out what the hell it is and how many theories it breaks simply by existing?

 

[Xeorm]

I have no idea how to interpret this article. Does this mean we didn't know where dark matter was before? Because if we knew where it was and didn't think to look at its X-Rays, then I feel like someone should get fired. But I guess if we never knew where dark matter was, then I'm confused as to how we detected it at all. But I guess it's nice that we can fnd it now; I guess the next step is figuring out what the hell it is and how many theories it breaks simply by existing?

The thing with dark matter is pretty similar to the situation with the table of elements way back when. In building the table of elements, we were able to see some spots where things probably existed, and had some idea of what properties they would have, but we weren't sure of what would happen or where the stuff was found. Being able to interact with it in some way that doesn't involve gravity is huge, because it means we can learn more about it besides what we think it can do based on the holes we think it fills in our current theories.

 

[Baresark]

Well... this is like the God of gaps theory. We don't know what it is, so it must be this....

More research is necessary, this article is an off the cuff reaction if I have ever seen one.

 

[Bke]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I figured that a spike in x-ray emissions was indicative of a black hole. Doesn't this simply mean a black hole is causing the weird effect? cause technically it is "dark mater"

 

[Pyrian]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I figured that a spike in x-ray emissions was indicative of a black hole.

It's also indicative of every other trip to the dentist. A lot of things generate black holes x-rays. It's the distribution of the signal that matches the observed distribution of dark matter gravitational force. Furthermore, the x-ray emissions are of a frequency theoretically predicted to result from the decay of a sterile neutrino - itself a hypothetical particle, and one of the several suspects for Dark Matter.

I wonder if we're going to eventually learn that there's actually like dozens of dark matter particles? And even more forms of Dark Energy.

 

[Darxide]

Well... this is like the God of gaps theory. We don't know what it is, so it must be this....

More research is necessary, this article is an off the cuff reaction if I have ever seen one.

You don't know how science actually works.

 

[Baresark]

Well... this is like the God of gaps theory. We don't know what it is, so it must be this....

More research is necessary, this article is an off the cuff reaction if I have ever seen one.

You don't know how science actually works.

I do know precisely how science works. You are confused because you think scientists are not human? Scientists, as humans, fall into those traps. It happens quite often actually. Sometimes to the point that it hurts the whole field (I submit for your observation the Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann Cold Fusion fiasco of 1989). If you read the extract it's talking about a lot of speculation, that up till this point, has been useful. Another thing science does is extend speculation of one theory to another to help account for holes in those theories. And you end up with a giant web where one not proven theory has a bunch of other theories dependent on it. The reason the observation of the Higgs Boson at CERN was so important was because a bunch of other theories hinged on the Higgs Boson Particle's existence.

I saw someone here use the analogy that this is like the periodic table of elements. It only makes sense because seemingly all the information around it points to it, so it was only natural to find this or to fill in the gaps of the periodic table. But that table was around in other incarnations for quite a while before the table and how it was configured was settled on. There were a lot of designs and organizational thoughts that were thrown away when the table gained popularity. The table was really important because it was the best incarnation of how to show the data in a way that would show you what is missing and could progress science with it's usage (it literally showed scientists what to look for). We only know the periodic table in the modern world and people have a tendency to take that for granted.

So, I know exactly how science works, but scientists err all the time. I know it is carried out by people who are flawed and can sometimes say things that seem appropriate at the time but later turn out to be false. For the record, I failed to mention how exciting I think this actually is. I think it's very exciting and I would love for it to be Dark Matter. I am not so convinced some X-Ray radiation is showing us that it is what it is, but I'm clearly capable of being wrong. I do not speak in certainties like most people, even scientists.

 

[Pyrian]

I do not speak in certainties like most people, even scientists.

Dark Matter: Scientists May Finally Have "Seen" It

Well... this is may be like the God of gaps theory. We don't know what it is, so it must be this....

Mmm, so far I'd say the article is less deserving of your criticism than you are.

 

[Baresark]

I do not speak in certainties like most people, even scientists.

Dark Matter: Scientists May Finally Have "Seen" It

Well... this is may be like the God of gaps theory. We don't know what it is, so it must be this....

Mmm, so far I'd say the article is less deserving of your criticism than you are.

I think I clearly stated I can be wrong about this. I was also critiquing the article more so for writing articles about things that are not certain. Scientific literacy is an issue pretty much everywhere. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that people read things all the time and take them as fact when said item is not a fact at all. Or worse, they can come to wrong conclusion as well, note my... note about the cold fusion fiasco of '89.

I also corrected the second bit for ya. You clearly meant to cross out "is" and insert "may be". Thanks for the correction though, don't be afraid to call me on my bullshit!

 

[Vivi22]

I do not speak in certainties like most people, even scientists.

Dark Matter: Scientists May Finally Have "Seen" It

Well... this is may be like the God of gaps theory. We don't know what it is, so it must be this....

Mmm, so far I'd say the article is less deserving of your criticism than you are.

Indeed. For someone who claims they don't speak in certainties, I see more certainty from him than from the scientists or this article.

I'm not sure how someone can read something where scientists say these emissions may have come from Dark Matter and jumps to the conclusion they're saying they are from Dark Matter. Well, that's not true, I do know some ways that can happen. One is a lack of reading comprehension. Misspeaking is also possible. Or they could just be deliberately attacking a strawman to feel smart. There's plenty of ways it can happen. Best to just admit when it does, take responsibility and move on though.

 

[Vivi22]

I was also critiquing the article more so for writing articles about things that are not certain.

The only possible critique one could have about writing an article about something which isn't certain is if the article claimed it was. There's also the possibility that they could get the facts wrong in the article, but that's unrelated to how certain a discovery is.

An article which directly addresses the uncertainty by using qualifiers such as "may have," is immune from this criticism because they make the uncertainty clear. But something not being certain does not mean that they can't report on what may end up being a significant step in the advancement of science. To suggest that things should only be reported on by media when they're certain is laughable.

Scientific literacy is an issue pretty much everywhere. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that people read things all the time and take them as fact when said item is not a fact at all. Or worse, they can come to wrong conclusion as well, note my... note about the cold fusion fiasco of '89.

None of this criticism applies to this article or any other which makes the level of uncertainty clear. I'm not seeing how you've made a single valid criticism of this article quite frankly. All I see is someone attacking a strawman in an attempt to look clever. Forgive me if that's not your intent, that's simply how it comes off.

 

[Tatsuki]

I came to this thread in the middle of the night last night, glanced through it all and thought I will read it today when I am more awake.

Getting through the comments has just been depressing, wrong of me I know but I tend to stereotype gamers as like minded individuals which portrays them as having an avid interest in science if not a working knowledge. Seeing so few responses to something that hypothetically could be hugely beneficial to our working knowledge of science was bad but seeing half of the comments that were made being a discourse on why "you are wrong" to other posters is just... ergh... (i know this was closer to mild discourse considering this is an internet forum but still)

Here's hoping this does lead to a way to accurately view and even map changes in the dark matter and its behavior.

 

[Schtoobs]

Seeing so few responses to something that hypothetically could be hugely beneficial to our working knowledge of science was bad but seeing half of the comments that were made being a discourse on why "you are wrong" to other posters is just... ergh...

Here's why you are wrong Seriously though, don't despair. Dark matter is at the bleeding edge of scientific theory, what could anyone that visits The Escapist possibly have to say about it other than "That's cool" and then a lot of filler debate to avoid mod wrath for low content posting?

I think plenty of people will, like me, read it with a keen interest but little to no understanding.

It is VERY cool though... whatever it is.

 

[direkiller]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I figured that a spike in x-ray emissions was indicative of a black hole. Doesn't this simply mean a black hole is causing the weird effect? cause technically it is "dark mater"

Like most science articals it's worded poorly

What they are talking about is spectroscopy.
Everything with a temperature above absolute zero emits and absorbs some sort of radiation. And every element has a unique radiation pattern. You can shift this pattern whatever way you want but it will always have the same gaps in the spectrum of light regardless of if it's gamma or infrared.

What was noted was an unknown spectrum profile. It could be user error, glitch or whatnot and needs to be checked again. but best case, yea they found dark matter or part of it anyway. As dark matter is a placeholder solution to the missing mass problem so if this accounts for only part of the mass, they only solved part of the problem.

 

[MrFalconfly]

Well... this is like the God of gaps theory. We don't know what it is, so it must be this....

When it comes to Dark Matter, it's less "God of the Gaps", and more "Literary Shorthand".

Instead of calling it the "I-dunno-but-something-must-be-doing-it-matter", they call it "Dark Matter".