Scientists have finally 'seen' dark matter for the first time

Nov. 26 (UPI) -- More than 100 years after its existence was predicted, scientists report that they have, for the first time, seen dark matter.

Scientists have been able to indirectly observe dark matter based on its effects on observable matter but now, with the help of a space-based NASA telescope, they have detected dark matter itself, according to a study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

Dark matter was predicted by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky as a type of invisible scaffolding that holds galaxies together as they move through space faster than their mass should be capable of allowing.

Using a decade and a half of data collected by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, researchers report that they have detected the invisible scaffolding based on gamma rays that result from the collision and resulting annihilation of two dark matter particles.

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"We detected gamma rays with a photon energy of 20 gigaelectronvolts -- or 20 billion electronvolts, an extremely large amount of energy -- extending to a halolike structure toward the center of the Milky Way galaxy," study author Tomonori Totani said in a University of Tokyo press release.

"The gamma-ray emission component closely matches the shape expected from the dark matter halo," said Totani, professor at the university's Department of Astronomy.

Researchers have previously theorized that dark matter is made up of weakly interacting massing particles, or WIMPs, which generally do not interact with other matter. When they collide, however, the collision had been predicted to annihilate both particles and release others, which includes gamma ray protons.

Data from the Fermi telescope, which for this research has been targeted at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, revealed specific gamma rays that could indicate actual dark matter particles, according to the study.

Totani said the energy spectrum of some gamma-ray emissions that have been detected in the Milky Way's halo match the emissions previously predicted from WIMP collisions -- they resulted in mass about 500 times that of a proton and at roughly the intensity expected based on predictions.

He added that more common astronomical or gamma ray phenomena cannot explain the finding, which he said indicates that dark matter has, in fact, finally been detected.

"If this is correct, to the extent of my knowledge, it would mark the first time humanity has 'seen' dark matter," Totani said.

"It turns out that dark matter is a new particle not included in the current standard model of particle physics," he said. "This signifies a major development in astronomy and physics."

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