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Nearly 100 years after it was first theorized, a scientist may have captured an image of dark matter For the first time.
using the NASAProfessor Tomonori Totani of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo collected data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which he claims is the first direct evidence of the invisible matter that makes up 85 percent of the universe.
The mysterious substance was first proposed by astronomer Fritz Zwicky in 1933 as a way to explain the gravitational effect needed to prevent galaxy clusters from falling apart.
Called dark matter, it does not emit, reflect, or absorb light, nor does it interact with electromagnetic forces, making it nearly impossible to observe.
Despite its elusive properties, it has been the subject of intense research because it can help explain how galaxies form, as well as give insight into the overall structure of the universe.
It was hypothesized that dark matter could produce light under extremely specific circumstances: when dark matter particles “self-destruct” when interacting with each other.
One way to see this would be through a gamma-ray telescope, as the interaction will produce gamma ray photons.
By training NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on the center of our universe – a region where dark matter is theoretically concentrated – Professor Totani claims to have detected distinctive gamma rays.
“The gamma-ray emission component closely matches the shape expected from a dark matter halo,” Professor Totani said.
“If this is correct, to my knowledge, it will be the first time humanity has ‘seen’ dark matter. And it turns out that dark matter is a new particle that is not included in the current Standard Model of particle physics.
“It marks a major development in astronomy and physics.”
Their results were published in a study on Wednesday, although they still need to be independently verified by other researchers.
The study, titled ’20 GeV halo-like extragalactic diffuse emission and implications for dark matter annihilation’, was published in. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics,