Dark matter may be made up of particles that first appeared in the universe in the first moments after the Big bang. There is a new theory suggesting that these hypothetical particles might be aliens.
The researchers theorize that the particles could have been created in just the right quantities to explain dark matter. The process was thought to be too rare for dark matter candidates, according to the study co-author.
In a new study published in February in the journal Physical Review Letters, Cacciapaglia, along with Korea University physicists Haiying Cai and Seung J. Lee, found that enough of these gravitons would have been made in the early universe.
The study found that the graviton's mass would be less than the mass of an electron. The model to account for all the dark matter in the universe is dependent on this mass level being below the scale at which the Higgs boson is created. The lightest known particle is the neutrino, which weighs less than 2 electronvolts, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
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The team found these hypothetical gravitons while looking for evidence of extra dimensions, which some physicists believe exist alongside the observed three dimensions of space and the fourth dimensions, time.
The team believes that when gravity travels through extra dimensions, it creates massive gravitons in our universe.
The particles would only interact weakly with ordinary matter. This description is very similar to what we know about dark matter, which is not interacting with light yet has a strong influence on the universe. The influence of gravity prevents the galaxies from flying apart.
The main advantage of dark matter particles is that they only interact with each other, so they can't be seen.
Other dark matter candidates, such as weakly interacting massive particles, axions and neutrinos, might also be felt by their subtle interactions with other forces and fields.
Another advantage is that massive gravitons barely interact with the other particles and forces in the universe.
Due to their weak interactions, they decay so slowly that they remain stable over the lifetime of the universe.
Physicists used to think that gravitons were not dark matter candidates because the processes that create them are very rare. gravitons would be created at a lower rate than other particles.
The team found that more of the gravitons would have been created in a fraction of a second. The study found that this enhancement was enough to explain the amount of dark matter in the universe.
Cacciapaglia said that the enhancement came as a shock and that they had to perform many checks to make sure the result was correct.
Massive gravitons are free from uncertainties related to higher energy scales because they form below the energy scale.
The team has a theory that links the physics of gravity with the physics of particles. The Future Circular Collider at the European Center for Nuclear Research will be able to hunt for evidence of dark matter particles.
The best shot we have is at future high-precision particle colliders.
It was originally published on Live Science.
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