RIP Dark Matter: Scientists Re-Imagine The Universe With 'Undiscovered Gravity'

Is dark matter just a figment of our scientific imagination? If a new model of the universe is to be believed, the need for dark matter could be scientifically eliminated.

By modifying Newton's theory of gravity which states that every particles attracts every other particle in the universe gravitationally, scientists found that the characterisation of unexplainable data as "dark matter" may not be the right approach going forward. Don't count dark matter out just yet, though!

Currently, astronomers use dark matter to explain space phenomena that falls outside the purview of regular matter found in the universe.

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New model challenges dark matter

The study could help explain the characteristics of a radiation called the "Cosmic Microwave Background" (CMB) that exists in all of the universe. It is considered a remnant of processes that created the universe.

Published in the Physical Review Letters, the paper was authored by Constantinos Skordis and Tom Zlosnik from the Czech Academy of Sciences.

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L. CAL?ADA/ESO

The new model, according to Skordis, can fit "large-scale cosmological data" including "cosmic microwave background" unlike the models before. Dark matter is dictated by its inability to react with light and is considered the web of cosmos that holds galaxies together instead of flying apart due to gravity of stars and other objects in galaxies.

Such dark matter is invisible to us, and in fact could be incorrectly attributed as the keeper of galaxy's stabilities. Scientists are reattempting to understand gravity though MOND (Modified Theories of Newtonian Dynamics).

A new undiscovered form of gravity?

Dark matter, could very well be just an undiscovered form of gravity, as suggested by the researchers. They suggest that gravity is created by two fields: one with a universal value (like temperature) and another with fluctuating values (akin to a vehicle's physical characteristics in terms of speed and direction).

HERSCHEL/ESA

In their two-field model of gravity, it appeared that gravity transformed into a different force unlike dark matter, which could help explain the prevalence of CMB in the universe.

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Even then, we wouldn't count dark matter out just yet. The research is in its nascent stage. But with more modelling and assessments, it could help us understand what holds galaxies together - an undiscovered form of gravity or just good old dark matter?

Only time will tell. In the meantime, keep reading Indiatimes for the latest in all-things-space and the world of technology and science.

Citation

Lea, R. (2021, October 25). New Model of the Universe Does Away With Dark Matter. Newsweek.