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land may be swimming through an sea ofdark matter — and wave in that unseeable sea lapping against our planet ’s upper air may generate noticeable radio receiver wave that earmark us to finally find this elusive component of the universe , according to new theoretical research .
A wealth of astrophysical and cosmogonical grounds point to the existence of sullen matter , from the incomprehensible rotary motion curves of certain beetleweed to the ontogenesis of the largest anatomical structure in the universe . Attempts to explain this wide variety of observations with alternative formulations ofgravityhave go wrong , so the vast majority of astronomers think dark subject is some unknown form of thing that only rarely interact with light or with normal topic .
Auroras occur in Earth’s ionosphere, where charged solar particles collide with atmospheric atoms. New research suggests this may be the best place in the universe to find elusive dark matter, too
But that is a very unspecific theme that encompass a quite a little of possibilities . Dark mattermay be made of massive particles , but searches for those kinds of particles have mostly release up empty . So an intriguing alternative is that dark matter is exceptionally lightsome , either in the form of theoretic mote known as " axions " or as an exotic form of photon that carries a chip of pot .
With that unbelievable lightness — millions of times weak than the lightest known particles — grim matter could act in very unusual ways . In particular , alternatively of appearing as item-by-item point - like bullets , the colored affair wouldbehave more like large wavesthat slosh around the cosmos .
In arecent studypublished to the preprint server arXiv , physicists explore mannequin of ultralight dark matter that was n’t entirely dark , allowing it to interact extremely seldom with normal matter . Most of the clip , these interactions barely register , bring out nothing detectable . But in rare caseful , the dark issue and normal thing interact enough to produce a sizable amount ofradio waves .
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This would go on when the dark matter encountered aplasmaand when the relative frequency of dark issue waves lined up with the frequency of plasm moving ridge . When this materialize , a resonance would occur , amplifying the interaction and producing irradiation in the form of radio wave , the team ’s models suggest .
The universe is no stranger to plasmas — all champion spew plasm into space in the form of prima wind — so theorists had already explored the production of radio waves due to dark matter interact with environments such as the solar corona discharge or the interstellar culture medium . But in this new research , the scientist discover an interaction point much tight to habitation : our major planet ’s ionosphere .
Earth ’s ionosphere is the thin , red-hot level of the upper atmosphere , and it consists of a loose collection of ionized ( charge ) particles — a plasm . It naturally has waves sloshing through it , and the researchers see that those waves can interact with waves of hypothetical drear subject that might be washing over Earth .
The wireless waves produced by this fundamental interaction would be just detectable . But the research worker incur that by using a cautiously tuned radio transmitting aerial to search for a specific frequency of radio waves over the class of a yr , they might be capable to find these waves .
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This theme is especially promising because Earth ’s ionosphere pop the question several advantages over other sources of dark - matter - produced radio wave . For one , the ionosphere course chew over many radio wave from deep space , making it comparatively devoid of contaminate signals . secondly , the ionosphere is correct above us , wanton to access , and already the subject of constant monitoring and study .
It ’s a long shot . This grade of dark matter is highly theoretical , and it would take year , if not decades , to perfect the observation proficiency to search for these radio waves . But if it work , it would be a amber mine , allowing us to study one of the most mystifying elements in the universe properly on our cosmic doorstep .
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