Dark matter or cooling “primordial soup” could create gravitational waves

Just a few months ago, scientists reported the detection of very low-frequency gravitational waves. Now a pair of German astrophysicists has investigated two intriguing possible sources – the universe cooling down after the Big Bang, and a field of par… Continue reading Dark matter or cooling “primordial soup” could create gravitational waves

Neutron stars scanned for signals of dark matter turning into light

Dark matter is thought to outnumber the regular stuff by a ratio of five to one, yet it remains frustratingly elusive. But there might be ways to potentially spot it, if you know where to look, and now astronomers have scanned neutron stars for telltal… Continue reading Neutron stars scanned for signals of dark matter turning into light

Neutrino experiments find no sign of expected new subatomic particle

An extensive search for a hypothetical particle has turned up empty. The sterile neutrino is a proposed subatomic particle that could even be a candidate for the mysterious dark matter, and although previous studies have hinted at its existence, two ne… Continue reading Neutrino experiments find no sign of expected new subatomic particle

Dark matter: What is it, how do we know it’s there and will we find it?

It sounds like science fiction to say there’s invisible, undetectable stuff all around us, and it doesn’t help that it has the spooky name of dark matter. But there’s plenty of evidence that this material is very real. So what exactly is dark matter? H… Continue reading Dark matter: What is it, how do we know it’s there and will we find it?

Exciting signals from dark matter experiment could herald new physics

An experiment designed to hunt for ever elusive dark matter has returned some strange and exciting signals. The anomalies are probably not dark matter itself, but could be an indication that we’re on the right track to finding it. Out of the three poss… Continue reading Exciting signals from dark matter experiment could herald new physics

High-energy cosmic neutrinos traced back to their home quasars

There are billions of tiny particles called neutrinos streaming through your body right now. But where did they come from? Russian researchers have now traced back some ultra-high energy neutrinos to their points of origin – radio flares from raging qu… Continue reading High-energy cosmic neutrinos traced back to their home quasars

New candidate particle for dark matter is one we’ve already found

Dark matter is believed to outnumber regular matter by a ratio of five-to-one, but so far it’s never been directly detected. Now, nuclear physicists at the University of York have proposed a new candidate particle that might make up the strange stuff –… Continue reading New candidate particle for dark matter is one we’ve already found