Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 3, 2020

Cosmic bubbles may have forged dark matter, new theory suggests

Ballooning cosmic bubbles in our early universe may have led to the current abundance of dark matter, the elusive substance that tugs on the stars, yet emits no light, a new study suggests. The theory, described Oct. 9 in the journal The Physical Review Letters, may explain exactly how dark...

Dec 2, 2020

Mystery of galaxy's missing dark matter solved. (And it involves a thief.)

A small, mysterious galaxy 44 million light-years away is finally yielding up its secrets. Revealed last year to have a shockingly low amount of dark matter, the galaxy NGC 1052-DF4 posed a significant challenge to our models of galaxy formation. Those models yet live another day. According to new research,...

Dec 31, 2020

6 ways the hunt for dark matter changed in 2020

Perhaps the most confounding problem in astrophysics is dark matter. Vera Rubin discovered it in the 1970s, showing that galaxies spin much faster than the visible matter in them can explain. Now researchers believe dark matter makes up 85% of the mass of the universe, and is largely responsible for...

Jan 26, 2021

Mysterious 'kick' just after the Big Bang may have created dark matter

One of the lingering mysteries of the universe is why anything exists at all. That's because, in the universe today, matter and its antimatter counterpart should form in equal amounts, and then these two oppositely charged types of matter would annihilate each other on contact. So all the matter in...

Feb 5, 2021

Scientists narrow down the 'weight' of dark matter trillions of trillions of times

Scientists are finally figuring out how much dark matter — the almost imperceptible material said to tug on everything, yet emit no light — really weighs. The new estimate helps pin down how heavy its particles could be — with implications for what the mysterious stuff actually is. The research...

Mar 26, 2021

A 'lump' of dark matter may be ripping apart Taurus' face

The Hyades — a young, V-shaped cluster of stars swooshing through the head of the constellation Taurus — is slowly being ripped apart by an enormous, invisible mass, a new study suggests. This unrest in the bull's head could point to an ancient cache of dark matter left over from...

Apr 1, 2021

Dark matter 'annihilation' may be causing the Milky Way's center to glow

A mysterious glow coming from the center of the Milky Way might be caused by annihilating dark matter — elusive matter that emits no light. According to new research, heavy dark matter particles may be destructively colliding at the center of the galaxy, creating elementary particles, as well as gamma...

Apr 20, 2021

One of Earth's nearest stars may be a dark matter factory

Deep in its searing hot belly, the giant red star Betelgeuse could be producing tons of hypothetical dark matter particles called axions that, if they exist, would give off a telltale signal. A recent search for such a tantalizing emission has turned up empty, but helps physicists place new limits...

May 4, 2021

Astronomers chart invisible ocean of dark matter swirling outside the Milky Way

A mysterious wake of stars, stirred up by a small galaxy that is set to collide with the Milky Way, could be about to unlock the mysteries of dark matter. The trail of stars, located outside the star-flecked spiral arms of the Milky Way's central disk in a region called...

May 28, 2021

Dark matter map reveals new filaments connecting galaxies

A new map of dark matter made using artificial intelligence reveals hidden filaments of the invisible stuff bridging galaxies. The map focuses on the local universe — the neighborhood surrounding the Milky Way. Despite being close by, the local universe is difficult to map because it's chock full of complex...

Jun 26, 2021

Already-weird galaxy found to have oddly little dark matter

Astronomers may not know what dark matter is, but they do know that galaxies are supposed to contain a lot of the shadowy, invisible substance. Dark matter makes up the lion's share of a galaxy's mass, and it's critical to hold a galaxy's stars, gas and dust together. So, when...

Jul 8, 2021

Can we explain dark matter by adding more dimensions to the universe?

Dark matter could be even weirder than anyone thought, say cosmologists who are suggesting this mysterious substance that accounts for more than 80% of the universe's mass could interact with itself. We live in an ocean of dark matter, yet we know very little about what it could be, Flip...

Aug 30, 2021

Quantum crystal could reveal the identity of dark matter

Using a quirk of quantum mechanics, researchers have created a beryllium crystal capable of detecting incredibly weak electromagnetic fields. The work could one day be used to detect hypothetical dark matter particles called axions. The researchers created their quantum crystal by trapping 150 charged beryllium particles or ions using a...

Sep 1, 2021

Is dark matter made of 'Fermi balls' forged in the Big Bang?

Dark matter — the mysterious substance that exerts gravity but doesn't interact with light — might be made of tiny black holes permeating the universe. And according to a new theory, those black holes might have been made from Fermi balls, or quantum bags of subatomic particles known as fermions...

Sep 14, 2021

Travel through galaxies and the dark matter web in this stunning universe simulation

A new simulation of the universe is a map and a time machine rolled up into one. Called Uchuu, which is Japanese for Outer Space, the map doesn't include Casseipoia or the moons of Neptune; instead, it's a map of large-scale galaxies and galaxy clusters, all glued together by an...