Researchers Develop the Most Detailed Map of Dark Matter

A team of scientists has built the most detailed map of dark matter ever existing. The 3D map of dark matter offers details which account for the existence of the elusive particles which are thought make up 80% of the universe. The dark matter map was developed with the help of Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields data which comprises a trio of galaxy clusters.

They behave like cosmic magnifying glasses which are used to look into a distant part of the universe. This phenomenon is known as gravitational lensing. Priyamvada Natarajan, an astrophysicist at the Yale University in the US, claimed that the data collected by these three lensing clusters helped them to map the dark matter in detail successfully.

Natarajan stated that they managed to plan all the clusters of dark matter which the data used allowed them to detect it. Thus, they designed the most accurate topological detailed map of the landscape of dark matter up to date. Researchers argue that dark matter may comprise 80% of the matter in cosmos. Dark matter represents unseen particles that do not reflect or absorb light, being able to exert gravity.

Dark matter may account for the nature of the formation of galaxies and also for the structure of the universe. Experiments developed at Yale attempt to spot the particle of dark matter. The primary candidates for this are neutralions and axions. Now, scientists have an accurate cosmic inventory for the amount of dark matter in the universe. Nevertheless, the particle itself continues to be evasive.

The particles of dark matter are known to make up the unseen mass responsible for gravitational lensing, by using the light from distant galaxies and bending it. The light bending process triggers systematic distortions shaped like galaxies and seen through the lenses. The group of scientists conducted by Natarajan has managed to decode these distortions to develop the new dark matter detailed map.

The map matches dark matter computer simulations which were theoretically predicted by the cold dark matter model. This cold matter moves slower than the speed of light. However, the hot dark matter moves faster. The agreement with the standard model is necessary since there is evidence for the existence of dark matter. The HD simulations in the study which was called the Illustris suite imitated the structure formation of the universe.

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