A mysterious signal around Earth could be dark matter

Scientists used Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere as a planet-sized detector to search for some of the lightest proposed forms of dark matter. The approach dramatically improved limits on ultralight axions and uncovered several intriguing dark photon signals that still need to be explained. A mysterious signal around Earth could be dark matter.

A mysterious signal around Earth could be dark matter Science News from research organizations A mysterious signal around Earth could be dark matter Scientists turned Earth into a giant dark matter detector and found several mysterious signals worth a closer look. Com Dark matter is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in modern physics. Astronomers are highly confident that it exists and estimate that it accounts for about a quarter of the universe’s total energy content, yet scientists still do not know what it is made of.

Two leading possibilities are hypothetical particles known as ultralight axions and dark photons. In the mass range examined by the researchers, these particles would be extraordinarily light, roughly 19 to 21 orders of magnitude lighter than an electron. Turning Earth Into a Giant Dark Matter Detector Many traditional axion experiments try to convert axions into photons by exposing them to extremely strong magnetic fields inside laboratories.

Even powerful lab magnets can only cover a relatively small region.