Science. – And if dark matter has the shape of a huge dark photon – Publimetro México

Madrid 11 (European press)

“Dark matter is five times more abundant than the visible matter that physicists have successfully discovered and of which we are made up. We don’t know what kind of dark particles it is made of, but we, along with a great many people in everyone, want to understand this,” explains Professor Anthony Thomas , Senior Lecturer in Physics at this Australian University.

Professor Thomas is part of the ARC Center of Excellence for the Dark Particle Physics team, which aims to discover more about this mysterious matter, which makes up 84% of the matter in the universe.

The main focus is the Sodium Iodide Active Bed Rejection Experiment (SABER) being built in a new laboratory at a former gold mine 1 km underground in Stawell, Australia. It is being built in collaboration with researchers from Australia, Europe and the United States and hopefully within a few years will shed light on this question.

Huge dark picture

Professor Thomas’ latest work with colleagues Dr Xuangong Wang and Professor Anthony Williams from the University of Adelaide’s School of Physical Sciences, published in Physical Review Letters, explores the possibility of dark matter in the form of a massive dark photon.

“We are exploring the discovery potential of a new instrument, valence-violating electron scattering, made possible thanks to an upgrade at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator (JLab) facility in the United States,” said Professor Thomas.

“Violating the equivalence is like looking at the difference between what happens in the lab and what happens when you look at the experiment in the mirror. The differences are very small, usually less than one part per million, but very precise measurements tell us that we have to notice this and use it as an indication that this particle is there. the new.

“We found a mysterious lead core size result that could be explained if there was a new particle of dark matter, the dark photon.

“New experiments in which predictions without dark matter can be changed by up to five percent, and the difference provides direct evidence for this type of dark matter.”

Insights into this new particle from Professor Thomas’ work may help explain the surprising discrepancy that has been inferred from experiments at JLab between the neutron density in the original nucleus and that predicted by nuclear structure theory.

“Vital evidence for the existence of such a particle can be provided by future experiments on the behavior of electrons, positrons and deuterons,” he said.

“Visible matter is just the tip of the iceberg. With a better understanding of dark matter, the part of the iceberg below the surface, we will shed light on the secrets of our universe.”