Attempting to smash regular particles together at extreme energies in the Large Hadron Collider (CERN) to recreate the conditions of the early universe and manufacture dark matter in a lab.
The afterglow of the Big Bang contains fluctuations that perfectly match models requiring large amounts of cold dark matter to have seeded the formation of the early universe. 🔬 Leading Theories on Its Nature La materia oscura
is one of the most profound mysteries in modern astrophysics and cosmology. Though it makes up about 27% of the universe's total mass-energy budget —outmassing normal, visible matter by a ratio of roughly 5 to 1—we cannot see it directly. 🌌 What is Dark Matter? Attempting to smash regular particles together at extreme
Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light. Because it does not interact with the electromagnetic spectrum, it is completely invisible to traditional telescopes. Though it makes up about 27% of the
It appears to interact with the rest of the universe almost exclusively through gravity . 🔍 How Do We Know It Exists?
Massive concentrations of dark matter warp the fabric of space-time. Light traveling from distant galaxies bends around this invisible mass on its way to Earth, creating visual distortions that allow scientists to map where the dark matter resides.
Building ultra-sensitive detectors deep underground (to shield them from cosmic rays) in hopes of capturing the rare moment a dark matter particle collisions with normal matter.