Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Physicists suggest new way to detect dark matter
by Staff Writers
Odense, Denmark (SPX) Nov 20, 2014


This is associate professor Chris Kouvaris from the University of Southern Denmark. Image courtesy University of Southern Denmark.

For years physicists have been looking for the universe's elusive dark matter, but so far no one has seen any trace of it. Maybe we are looking in the wrong place? Now physicists from University of Southern Denmark propose a new technique to detect dark matter.

The universe consists of atoms and particles - and a whole lot more that still needs to be detected. We can only speculate about the existence of this unknown matter and energy.

"We know that app. 5 pct. of the universe consists of the known matter we are all made of. The rest is unknown. This unknown matter is called dark matter, and we believe that it is all around us, including here on Earth", explains Chris Kouvaris, associate professor at the Centre for Cosmology and Particle Physics Phenomenology (CP3-Origins), Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark.

He and his colleague from CP3-Origins, postdoc Ian Shoemaker, now suggest a new way to detect the existence of the elusive dark matter.

Cosmic noise is a problem
Over the last years, physicists have placed detectors in underground sites app. a kilometer or more deep in order to detect dark matter. The idea is that dark matter is easier to detect in deep sites because there is less noise from cosmic or Earth-produced radiation that can potentially cover the dark matter signal.

This approach of detecting dark matter makes sense provided that dark matter interacts only a bit with atoms as it goes underground. The scientific term for this is that dark matter is weakly interacting with its surroundings.

"But we don't know if dark matter is that weakly interacting. In principle dark matter particles can lose energy as they travel underground before they hit the detector due to interactions with regular atoms. And in that case they might not have enough energy left to trigger the detector once they arrive there", says Chris Kouvaris.

Signals are good 12 hours a day
In a new research paper, he and Shoemaker study the possibility that dark matter can indeed interact substantially with atoms. They claim that depending on the properties of the dark matter particles, deep placed detectors can be blind because particles might have lost most of their energy before reaching the detector.

"In such a case, it would make more sense to look for dark matter signals on the surface of the Earth or in shallow sites", Kouvaris argues.

Placing a detector in shallow sites or on the surface ensures small energy loss for the dark matter particles but it also means a big increase in the background noise. This was after all the reason why detectors were placed in deep sites in the first place. To overcome this problem Kouvaris and Shoemaker propose - instead of trying to detect a single collision of a dark matter particle with the detector - to look for a signal that varies periodically during the day.

Because dark matter particles approach the detector from various directions, as the Earth rotates, the flux of the particles reaching the detector can vary. This causes a signal that will go from maximum to minimum in 12 hours and back to maximum again after another 12 hours.

Such a pattern will make the signals from dark matter stand out clear even though the detectors also pick up cosmic noise.

"The best locations for the observation of such a modulation signal are places in the south hemisphere with latitude around 40 degrees, such as Argentina, Chile and New Zealand" says Chris Kouvaris.

What is dark matter and dark energy?
27 pct. of the universe is believed to consist of dark matter. Dark matter is believed to be the "glue" that holds galaxies together. Nobody knows what dark matter really is.

5 pct. of the universe consists of known matter such as atoms and subatomic particles.

The rest of the universe is believed to consist of dark energy. Dark energy is believed to make the universe expand.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of Southern Denmark
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








STELLAR CHEMISTRY
GPS satellites might be able to detect elusive dark matter
Reno NV (SPX) Nov 17, 2014
The everyday use of a GPS device might be to find your way around town or even navigate a hiking trail, but for two physicists, the Global Positioning System might be a tool in directly detecting and measuring dark matter, so far an elusive but ubiquitous form of matter responsible for the formation of galaxies. Andrei Derevianko, of the University of Nevada, Reno, and his colleague Maxim ... read more


STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Russia Preparing Joint Moon Exploration Agreement With EU

U.K. group to crowd-source funding for moon mission

After Mars, India space chief aims for the moon

China examines the three stages of lunar test run

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Mars Exploration Program Director Named

Second Time Through, Mars Rover Examines Chosen Rocks

Mars was warm enough for flowing water, but only briefly

Several Drives Push Opportunity Over 41-Kilometer Mark

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Astronauts to get 'ISSpresso' coffee machine

Ball Aerospace equips Orion with key avionics and antenna hardware

Tencent looks to the final travel frontier

ESA Commissions Airbus As contractor For Orion Service Module

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
China Launches Second Disaster Relief Satellite

China expects to introduce space law around 2020

China launches new remote sensing satellite

China publishes Earth, Moon photos taken by lunar orbiter

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Soyuz docks at Space Station; Expedition 42 joins crew

Italy's first female astronaut heads to ISS in Russian craft

Space station gets zero-gravity 3-D printer

NASA Commercial Crew Partners Continue System Advancements

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Elon Musk unveils 'drone ship' and 'x-wing' fins for rockets via Twitter

Russian Rocket Supply for Satellites Launches Continues

China launches Yaogan-24 remote sensing satellite

Soyuz Installed at Baikonur, Expected to Launch Wednesday

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
How to estimate the magnetic field of an exoplanet?

Follow the Dust to Find Planets

NASA's TESS mission cleared for next development phase

ADS primes ESA's CHEOPS to detect and classify exoplanets

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Cloaking device hides across continuous range of angles

Swedish military gets upgraded radar facilityw/lll

A new approach to the delivery of satellites to orbit

Cooling with the coldest matter in the world




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.