Discover the Smallest Clump of Pure Dark Matter Ever Found: A Breakthrough in Cosmic Science!

Scientists have made an exciting discovery: they may have found the smallest clump of pure dark matter. This “dark object” shows up as a notch in the arc of a section of space that’s been warped by gravity.

If this finding is confirmed, it supports the idea of cold dark matter. Understanding dark matter is key for physicists and astronomers as they search for details about this mysterious substance. “Hunting for dark objects that do not emit light is challenging,” shared Devon Powell from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

This discovery came while researchers were observing an Einstein ring, a phenomenon where the gravity of a massive object bends the light from a distant galaxy. When combining radio telescopes from across the world, including the Green Bank Telescope in the U.S. and others in Europe and Asia, astronomers were able to create a powerful tool to view distant cosmic objects.

Led by John McKean from the University of Groningen and Powell, the team initially aimed to study a compact symmetric object, likely linked to a supermassive black hole. However, their analysis revealed something unexpected: a gravitational image mapping out where mass is located. This image showed a notch that suggests an object with a mass a million times that of our sun, possibly an inactive dwarf galaxy or a small clump of dark matter.

Powell explained, “We expected to find at least one dark object, so this discovery supports the cold dark matter theory. The big question now is whether we can find more.”

Cold dark matter is theorized to be made of low-energy particles that can clump together due to gravity. In contrast, hot dark matter consists of high-energy particles that move too quickly to combine. A recent study estimates that about 85% of the universe’s mass is dark matter, yet it remains mostly unseen and poorly understood.

Finding low-mass dark matter objects, like the one in this study, helps scientists learn more about dark matter’s nature. Chris Fassnacht from the University of California, Davis, highlighted the importance of uncovering these small masses for future research.

The results of this study are detailed in two papers. One is published in Nature Astronomy, discussing the dark object, and the other in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, focusing on the compact symmetric object.

For further reading, you can explore the study in Nature Astronomy here and the findings related to the compact symmetric object here.

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