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Enter the Axion, Darkly?

The identity of the strange dark matter it is one of the greatest mysteries our Universe has to offer. It is an invisible and transparent substance, which most scientific cosmologists believe makes up most of the matter in the Cosmos. Although dark matter is believed to make up an impressive five-sixths of all matter in the Universe, the scientific consensus today is that it is made up of some yet unidentified alien particles, interacting only very weakly with all known forces in the universe. nature. , except for gravity. Dark matter is not atomic matter, which makes up the matter we are familiar with: the matter of stars, gas, planets, moons, and people. The identity of dark matter remains elusive, but in December 2013 a theoretical physicist suggested that the mysterious matter may already have been found, and that it is made up of hypothetical particles called axions.

Yes axions actually exist, and possess a low mass within a specific range, they may well be the mysterious particles that make up the dark matter. Scientific theory says that axions They were produced in great abundance during the inflationary birth of our Universe’s Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago, and they have no electrical charge, small mass, and only minimal interaction with strong and weak nuclear forces. The strong nuclear force holds the nuclei of atoms together, and the weak nuclear force is responsible for radioactive decay and neutrino interactions, and they are two of the four known forces of nature. Electromagnetism is the third and gravity is the fourth.

Yes axions in fact they exist, and possess a low mass, the Universe should literally be full of cold primordials axions. Therefore, depending on its mass, axions It could well be the mysterious, exotic, non-atomic particles that make up the dark matter. Studies are currently being carried out to detect possible dark matter axions, but scientists think that these studies are not yet sensitive enough to investigate the massive regions where axions (if they exist) should lurk.

“Good things come in small packages”

Most scientific cosmologists think that our Universe arose from an exquisitely small and extremely dense patch that was smaller than a proton. In the smallest fraction of a second, that strange and wonderful patch began to explode. What a balloon that inflates wildly, to eventually grow and evolve into the extraordinary and extraordinarily beautiful Universe that we observe today. Our Universe is composed mainly of invisible things, the nature of which remains elusive. Stellar matter that we barely understand constitutes only a very small fraction of the mass-energy component of the Cosmos. The stars fabricated the atomic elements that make up our bodies deep within their fiery, fusing nuclei, and then shattered when they finally burned their necessary supply of nuclear fuel, spewing the matter of life throughout the Cosmos! The stars are beautiful, bright, and beautiful dancing orbs in the sky. In fact, we owe our own life to the stars, but they are simply beautiful sparkling sequins floating in a Cosmic sea of ​​darkness. If only we could observe the Universe as Really that is, we would see that by far most of the matter is the Dark things. The majestic, huge and luminous starlit galaxies and galaxy clusters are embedded in halos of this strange and invisible dark matter. Tea dark matter it forms immense and massive entangled filaments throughout the Cosmos, and the non-atomic particles that are believed to compose it do not interact with light. The gigantic Cosmic web composed of the dark matter– if we could observe it directly – it would look a lot like a huge spider web. The comparatively small amount of luminous matter (glowing gas and the light from the fiery stars that ignite the galaxies) would look like glowing dewdrops on this magnificent Web.

Even more bewitching and puzzling than the dark matter, It is the rare and even more abundant dark energy. Dark energy It is a strange substance, a property of space itself, which is causing the Universe to accelerate in its expansion.

Based on the most recent observations and measurements, dark energy it makes up about 71.4% of the mass-energy component of the Cosmos. Not atomic Dark matter It is the most abundant form of matter and represents 24% of the Cosmos, and the “ordinary” matter of which we are composed represents an insignificant 4% of the Universe. But that small 4% is material from the stars, and the stars cooked up all the elements that make life in our Universe possible! The iron in our blood, the water we drink, the soil and the sand we walk on, all were made in the stellar nuclear fusion furnaces that dot our Cosmos with the wonderful atomic matter that makes life possible. If it weren’t for the stars and the atoms they forge into their fiery and fiery hearts, our Universe would be barren, devoid of observers to gaze at the mysterious sky and marvel at its incredible secrets.

As the saying goes: “Good things come in small packages.”

Enter the Axion, Darkly?

Numerous scientific experiments are currently underway investigating the mysterious nature of the elusive dark matter. These experiments are based on massive underground sensor arrays, which attempt to identify weak signals. dark matter It is believed to emit when it experiences rare collisions with other particles. So far, none of these studies have been successful.

However, Dr Christian Beck, a theoretical physicist at Queen Mary University of London, proposes that considerably smaller benchtop detectors could detect axions– who are the main candidates for the dark matter.

Theoretical studies indicate that axions can condense to form superparticles that physicists call Bose-Einstein condensates. “I began to think not of the behavior of singles axions, objective [about] the collective behavior of many axions coupled, “explained Dr. Beck in the post of December 9, 2013 Space.com.

Dr. Beck went on to point out that the equations that describe the motion of these axions were comparable to those describing a type of circuit called Union S / N / S Josephson. This special form of circuit is basically a device made up of two superconducting They are separated by a thin sheet of metal. Superconductors They are materials through which electricity can travel freely without experiencing any type of resistance.

Dr. Beck’s calculations indicated that axions they could leave behind an electrical signal that would be detectable as they travel through this device. “This opens up a new way to search axions that people haven’t thought of before, “he continued commenting.

If Dr. Beck’s idea works, it may indicate that the important evidence has already appeared! In 2004, an experiment that studied noise levels in Unions S / N / S Josephson it showed a sign of mysterious and indeterminate origin. Dr. Beck calculated that if that signal came from a axionWould indicate that these particles have masses less than four billionths of that of electrons!

To refute or confirm the theory that axions are responsible for the mysterious signal detected in 2004, further studies are needed, experiments that pay special attention to shielding any external radiation, because axions it cannot be protected.

Our planet is expected to travel faster through the Milky Way’s halo. dark matter in June and more slowly in December. So, if the signals really originate from those elusive axions, the number of these signals that these devices pick up should increase and decrease throughout the year.

Dr. Beck’s research was published online on December 2, 2013 in the journal Physical review letters.

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