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A hidden family of " ghost particles " may be responsible for all the dark matter in the universe — and the grounds that there is any matter at all , a late preprint study suggests .
One of the most puzzling questions in moderncosmologyis why the creation is fulfil with matter in the first berth . The problem is that almost all fundamental mote reactions bring about accurate numbers of matter and antimatter particle , which then go on to decimate each other in flash of energy . But the universe has an teemingness of matter and very lilliputian antimatter . So why did n’t everything just go away in the early cosmos ?
An illustration of particles blasting outward in the early universe
The problem is known as baryogenesis , and the leading speculation is that some unknown process led to an imbalance of matter over antimatter in the first moments of theBig Bang . But what could that process have been ?
New research suggest that the answer may lie in in ghostly little particles know asneutrinos . The enquiry was bring out Dec. 18 on thepreprint server arXivand has not yet been peer - refresh . Related:32 cathartic experiments that changed the world
There are three varieties of neutrino , and they all have bizarre properties . For one , they have justa tiny bit of passel , far lowly than even the mass of negatron . They are also all " left - handed , " which means their internal spins orient in only one direction as they travel , unlike all other speck that can orient in both directions .
This has led to speculation that there may be more neutrino varieties out there that we have n’t detected yet — the right - handed counterparts to the known neutrinos . That ’s because interaction between the left- and right - handed varieties of neutrinos could cause them to have pile .
A shattered universe
In their recent paper , the researchers proposed a model in which there are two the right way - handed neutrino species that have very high mass . The good example show that in the early mo of the universe , the left- and correct - handed neutrinos were in perfect Libra the Balance . But asthe cosmos expandedand cooled , that residual break , leading to a breaking of symmetries that make the left - handed neutrinos to acquire their mass and the right - handed neutrinos to vanish from view .
But the researcher ' model found that this cataclysmal fracture also had other consequences . For one , because neutrinos interact with other particles , their busted symmetry triggered a chain of mountains chemical reaction that threw off the frail balance between matter and antimatter . Second , the in good order - handed neutrino integrate together to create an altogether new particle , dubbed the Majoron . The Majoron is a hypothetical particle that is its own anti - subatomic particle , and the research worker ' calculations picture that this mote would have been made in abundance in the chaos of the former universe .
The Majoron would then come through as a souvenir of those ancient times , making up the majority of the great deal of every wandflower but remaining invisible and problematic . In other run-in , it would be a candidate fordark issue , the mysterious secret nub that fulfill the cosmos .
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It ’s an intrepid proposal , but a comprehensive one . According to the researchers , a single mechanism could explain the strange properties of neutrinos , the baryogenesis that go to the control of topic in the population , and the appearance of cryptical dark matter .
To particular date , there has been no experimental grounds for the existence of any right - handed neutrinos , rent alone something even more exotic like the Majoron . But the researchers predict that if the Majoron live , it could be within the detectability range of a number of neutrino experimentation , like Super - Kamiokande and Borexino — two undercover neutrino detectors based in Japan and Italy , respectively . Only time will say if one of these experiments will find a new signal that lines up with this hypothesis — but if that happens , we may be on the path to solving a act of cosmological mysteries .
