A team of physicists from the University of Rome will present in a few days a summary of an experiment, in which a heavy particle may have been discovered, which makes up the "dark matter" of the universe; It is an invisible substance that astronomers believe makes up about 80% of the mass of the universe. The discovery may solve a 70-year-old cosmological mystery and lead to
No one has been able to observe dark matter directly, but scientists have been able to observe indirect evidence of its existence, such as the material's great gravitational force - which causes light rays to bend when they pass near large concentrations of it, as they would if they passed near another heavy object. Cosmologists believe that dark matter is made of particles unknown to science today.
The particle that is thought to have been discovered weighs 50 times more than the proton particles, which are in the atomic nucleus. The particle belongs to a family of particles called WIMP - a group of particles that create weak interactions with other materials. None of them have been discovered so far, but physical theories predict that they should exist.
"If this particle was indeed discovered, then it is a very important discovery," says physicist Prof. Eliezer Rabinowitz, from the Hebrew University. "Also because it can explain what the structure of dark matter might be, which is a puzzle we have been following for a long time and has fundamental importance regarding the fate of the universe. In addition, it is a particle that is still unknown, so it is very important to know what it is."
But there are scientists, including Prof. Rabinovitch, who believe that it is still not clear if the discovery is true. "This is a very complex and difficult attempt. It is very difficult to achieve a result
Unequivocal from him, therefore it takes time and several attempts to confirm whether such a result is correct," he adds.
The findings of the experiment will be presented this Friday at the "Fourth International Symposium on the Origin and Detection of Dark Matter in the Universe", which will be held in California. According to the team, a "cumulative analysis" of data collected over a three-year period "supports the possibility of the existence of a WIMP." The team members came to this conclusion after noticing periodic changes in the count that appeared in their particle detector. According to the team members, these changes can be explained by the Earth passing through a cloud made of the particle that may have been discovered.
Dr. Frank Avinon, a physicist from the University of South Carolina, says: "The experiment, its system and facilities, were built with great care. I'm not ready to say 'No, I don't believe it.'" He also agreed that the results of the experiment may not be final and unequivocal, but added that if the team did succeed in discovering the particle, "then there is no doubt that the discovery will be at the level of a Nobel Prize."
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