It turns out that the center of our Galaxy –the milky way—is oddly bright, and researchers have found a powerful and mysterious signal originating in the center of our galaxy.
Nailing down the gamma-ray signal, it appears to be coming from the galactic center in an area not known for the presence of pulsars. Daylan et al./Physics of the Dark Universe (Source)
While researchers still have found direct indications that it exists, dark matter is one of the greatest revelations in modern science according to many researchers. Scientists believe that dark matters makes up approximately fixe-sixths of the total matter in the observable universe and binds much of it together. Simply put, dark matter is the ‘thing’ in the universe which prevents galaxies from being ripped apart as they spin: its a galactic glue.
Now, according to a new study published in the journal Physics of the Dark Universe, it turns out that this ‘cosmic glue’ can also be destroyed.
According to the new study, finding a signature of the destruction of dark matter could even possibly reveal what dark matter is made of in the first place and a group of scientists from Harvard University believes they have found indications of it located at the center of our galaxy.
Despite numerous studies, researchers are still unable to conclude on what dar matter may actually be composed of, and according to one recent theory, particle could be so dense that they are on the verge of becoming miniature black holes, this however is still unconfirmed.
While the truth behind dark matter remains n enigma for scientists, astrophysicists believe that these particles are in fact eerily similar to ordinary matter, and are composed of matter and antimatter. They explain that when ‘matter’ encounters ‘antimatter’ both are annihilated in a powerful blast which then emits high-energy radiation.
According to iflscience.com, researchers have been looking for a source of matter-antimatter annihilation, but with dark matter, not ordinary matter. Peering into the galactic center, where the density of matter – and presumably dark matter – is incredibly high, previous studies have spotted powerful emissions of gamma-rays. One possibility is that this energetic signal originated from a particle of dark matter colliding with its antimatter equivalent, destroying each other in the process.
But, researchers speculate that there are quite a few different celestial events that could be the culprit, producing similar outbursts. According to a high-resolution map of every single bright object in deep space, it turns out that the known universe is in fact fiery and energetic, meaning that neutron stars, merging, black holes, supernovae and their subsequent glowing, nuclear ashes can all emit gamma-rays.
Searching for the mystery signal
So what caused the mystery signal from our galaxy? Well, scientists argue its likely to have come from a Pulsar. Pulsars are considered by researchers as ‘lighthouses of the vast ‘ocean’ called universe’. Pulsars have been found to rotate at unimaginable speeds emitting beams of electromagnetic radiation in the process. If researchers came across these beams, they would resemble high-energy pulses.
Based upon mainstream theoretical models of ‘dark matter’, scientists believed that the mysterious signals coming from the galactic center could have been caused by a pulsar or dark matter annihilation.
However, if the signals were produced by Pulsars, researchers would need to locate the pulsar in the galaxy. Usually, Pulsars are located in the vicinity of star clusters, but after careful studies, scientists concluded that the region of the galactic center where the signals originated from, were unlikely to contain any pulsars. This is why researchers believe the bursts must have come from the destruction of dark matter, a theory that again needs to be verified.
In the study, researchers state: “The signal described in this study can be explained by a very simple dark matter candidate, without any baroque or otherwise unexpected features. If confirmed, this discovery has “profound implications for cosmology and particle physics.”
No comments:
Post a Comment