A Chance to See Dark Matter

Most of the matter in the universe is the mysterious dark matter, which astronomers can detect through gravitational effects but cannot actually see. The visible matter, or baryonic matter, that we're familiar with seems to make up only about 5% of the known universe compared to the 25% of dark matter!

Of course, the major problem in searching for dark matter is how to look for something when you can't see it. A new computer simulation may give a clue.

In the November 6 issue of the journal Nature, research from the Virgo Consortium (an international team of research scientists), are based on the idea that dark matter are supersymmetric partners of conventional matter particles. In this case, annihilation of dark matter (as it converts from supersymmetric particle to regular particle) would emit gamma rays which would be detectable. Their calculations suggest that this would be most visible in the direction of the Galactic halo, contradicting some previous conjectures of where this energy would be most visible.

This finding, if supported, will help astronomers figure out where to direct their telescopes to look for the signatures of this type of dark matter. Of course, it's possible that dark matter is made of some other exotic material ... in which case the search will continue in other areas, as well.

Related Articles:

• Nature Editorial Summary - Where to find dark matter
• Nature News & Views - Astrophysics: An Illuminating Dark Halo (subscription required)
• Nature - Prospects for detecting supersymmetric dark matter in the Galactic halo
• Space.com - Mysterious Dark Matter Might Actually Glow