Dark matter is well-named. It doesn’t emit any light and interacts only with visible matter via gravity. However, dark matter may only be a tip of an invisible universe of unknown powers. This possibility has led to a hunt for “dark photons.” Such photons are analogous to ordinary photons, but they are exchanged among particles of dark matter, and according to some models, they may have mass.
Dark Matter leads a secret life
According to the journal, evidence for dark photosns would be a gamechanger PhysicsIt was revealed that dark matter lives a much more complicated life than most theories would have you believe. However, the Large Hadron Collider’s latest search for dark photons has failed to yield any results.
The discovery of the dark photon could explain many of the mysteries of the universe”
“The discovery of the dark photon could explain many of the mysteries of the universe, such as the nature of dark matter, while directly addressing experimental observations, such as recent tensions between the muon moment measurements and the Standard Model, and anomalies in cosmic ray observations,” physicist Cris PandaUC Berkeley sent an email to The Daily Galaxy. “This breakthrough discovery could start a new era of Physics in which a myriad of new particles and physical laws are discovered in a short period of time. A wealth of possible experimental and theoretical results could find solutions to many of the currently unexplained phenomena in the Standard Model, such as the nature of gravity, dark matter and dark energy, or the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe”.
Dark Photon Theory is Doubted by Fine-Structure Constant
A team of researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California conducted an ultra-precise measure of the fine-structure constant in 2018. They found evidence that challenges dark photon theory. TheirPaperThe group published their measurement process in Science and the results they got using it.
Only gravitational interactions have allowed for the discovery of dark matter. The discovery of dark photons could change this. Dark photons are capable of interfacing with everyday matter as well as dark matter.
The fine-structure constan is a number that measures the force of electromagnetic interaction between charged particles. This includes those involved in keeping electrons inside their atoms. The magnetic properties of electrons have been used to calculate the fine-structure constant, but these calculations are still theoretical. The researchers point out that more precise measurements are possible to test the Standard Model in particle physics. To this end, they tried to measure the constant by more direct means.
They used matter-wave interferometry to aim a laser at cesium-133 atoms to cause them to enter quantum superposition. Then they took a closer look at what happened as they returned to their natural state. The interference that occurred, the team reports, revealed the speed at which the atoms traveled when they were struck by the laser—they used that number to calculate the fine-structure constant. They claim that their work has enabled them to calculate the fine structure constant to a better than one percent per billion.
There is still room for other particle theories to explain the discrepancy
Researchers report that their calculations were very close to the theory. This confirms theories that electrons don’t contain smaller unknown particles. It also casts doubts on the existence of dark photosns. The bright side is that their calculations were close to the theoretical number, but not exactly, so there are still other theories of particle behavior to explain this discrepancy.
The Last Word
“Currently the standard model of particle physics does not include gravity,” wrote CERN particle physicist Philip IltenAn email to The Daily Galaxy. “However,” he notes, “dark matter has only been observed via gravitational interactions. Because dark photons interact with everyday matter, the discovery of dark photons could change this. Dark photons could provide a portal into the dark matter sector which could be just as complicated as everyday matter.”
The image at top of this page is a computer simulation that shows dark matter and dwarf galaxies forming in half the age of the Universe. Dark matter filaments are the most common form of galaxy formation. This is a violent process that involves merging gas clouds and spawning stars deep inside their sheltered cores. Credit: Bourke Crain and Duffy
Maxwell Moe, astrophysicist, NASA Einstein Fellow University of Arizona via Philip Ilten, Cris Panda, Physics, Science
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Maxwell Moe is an astrophysicist and NASA Einstein Fellow at the University of Arizona. Max is often found at Kitt Peak National Observatory two nights per week, exploring the mysteries of the Universe. Max received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2015.
