New theory of stealth dark matter may explain universe’s missing mass

Lawrence Livermore scientists have come up with a new theory that may identify why dark matter has evaded direct detection in Earth-based experiments.

A group of national particle physicists known as the Lattice Strong Dynamics Collaboration, led by a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory team, has combined theoretical and computational physics techniques and used the Laboratory’s massively parallel 2-petaflop Vulcan supercomputer to devise a new model of dark matter. It identifies it as naturally “stealthy” (i.e. like its namesake aircraft, difficult to detect) today, but would have been easy to see via interactions with ordinary matter in the extremely high-temperature plasma conditions that pervaded the early universe.

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• It identifies it as naturally “stealthy” (i.e. like its namesake aircraft, difficult to detect)

Or, like the actual word “stealth”…

I tend to flush my dark matter away…

Stealth said:

I tend to flush my dark matter away…

snort

You owe me a screen cleaning…

Michael V said:

Stealth said:

I tend to flush my dark matter away…

snort

You owe me a screen cleaning…

:)

Reading (between the lines) from the link. What they’re proposing is a new fifth force.

In addition to the normal four forces of gravity, electromagnetism, weak force and strong force, they’re proposing a fifth force that only holds together dark matter particles. They’re claiming that dark matter particles have essentially the same composite structure as normal particles such as neutrons, but can’t be seen because the fifth force is so strong that atom smashers can’t break it.

The hypothesis is testable by looking for “Electromagnetic Polarizability” in the early universe.

Actually, that’s not such a bad idea.

mollwollfumble said:

Reading (between the lines) from the link. What they’re proposing is a new fifth force.
…
Actually, that’s not such a bad idea.

But on the other hand, it is seriously disturbing. What are the fundamental dark matter particles from which these composite dark matter particles are made? Why do all composite dark matter particles have zero net charge unlike, for instance, the proton? Why do they all lack the ability to participate in weak and strong force interactions?

Unlike other concepts of dark matter that require only one particle, or possess a symmetry between normal matter and dark matter domains, this proposal has multiple particles and lacks symmetry. Unless some other major symmetry constraints are placed on it, the probability of it being the correct explanation approaches zero.