Monday, January 30, 2023

3849 - DARK MATTER - mysteries near the Sun?

 

  

            -  3849  -  DARK  MATTER  -  mysteries near the Sun?   Space probes that fly close to the sun might one day help to reveal the nature of dark matter.   Dark matter is the invisible and largely intangible substance that researchers suggest makes up about five-sixths of all matter in the universe.

           


            ---------------  3849  -  DARK  MATTER  -  mysteries near the Sun

            -   Say that again 80% of the Universe is Dark Matter and we don't know what it is?  How are we going to find out? 

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            -  Although dark matter hasn't been observed directly, its existence is hinted at via its gravitational effects on the movements of stars and galaxies. What dark matter might be composed of remains a mystery.

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            -    A new way to discover the nature of dark matter is using the most precise timepieces ever made: atomic clocks. Whereas grandfather clocks keep time by tracking swinging pendulums, atomic clocks monitor the quantum vibrations of atoms. Currently, the best atomic clock is so precise, it will essentially lose just one second every 300 billion years.

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            -    Atomic clocks are sent into space regularly. For instance, GPS satellites rely on atomic clocks to broadcast precisely timed messages that each GPS receiver uses to help pinpoint its location.

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            -    A mission, tentatively dubbed “SpaceQ”, is proposed to an orbit near the sun. The “Parker Solar Probe” closer to the sun than any other spacecraft had gone before. In 2021, the probe flew across the sun's corona, its ultrahot upper atmosphere, for the first time, and it continues to circle closer and closer to our star.

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            -     How to most effectively shield the sensitive quantum sensors from the extreme environments one finds near the sun.  But missions like the Parker Space Probe show that incredible things are possible, and there seem to be no absolute roadblocks.

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            -    Leading candidates for dark matter include ghostly ultralight particles. For instance, a hypothetical particle known as an “axion” may have a mass less than a billionth of an electron's. Theoretical physicists originally proposed the existence of axions to help explain why interactions are seen between some particles but not others.

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            -    If dark matter is made of ultralight particles, their insubstantial nature would make them extraordinarily difficult to detect, explaining why they have eluded discovery to date. However, because the sun is far heavier than Earth at about 330,000 times the mass of our planet, it possesses a stronger gravitational pull.

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            -    In principle, this means the sun may collect significantly more dark matter to it than Earth does. This greater density could make it easier for probes near the sun, closer than Mercury's orbit, to detect these ghostly particles.

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            -    The Parker Solar Probe showed that you could send a satellite very close to the sun, sensing new conditions and making discoveries.   In principle, waves of ultralight dark matter particles could trigger variations in fundamental constants of nature, such as the mass of the electron or the strength of the electromagnetic force.

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            -    This, in turn, would change how atomic clocks tick, an effect that depends on the atoms the clock uses. By comparing how two different atomic clocks keep time near the sun, researchers may find dark matter. Comparable effects also may be seen in future timekeepers that may prove even more precise than atomic clocks.

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            -    If ultra-light dark matter were detected in a mission like this, it would be a direct probe of both the density of the dark matter near the sun and its couplings to ordinary matter.

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            -   The scientists noted that the SpaceQ mission would require clocks that are still under development.   If we can measure dark matter in different locations, we can map out the density distribution.   And if the signal gets stronger towards the sun, it would be a compelling smoking-gun signature for discovery.

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            -    Atomic clocks are sent into space regularly. For instance, GPS satellites rely on atomic clocks to broadcast precisely timed messages that each GPS receiver uses to help pinpoint its location.

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            -   If ultra-light dark matter were detected in a mission like this, it would be a direct probe of both the density of the dark matter near the sun and its couplings to ordinary matter.

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            January 28, 2022       DARK  MATTER  -  mysteries near the Sun?             3849                                                                                                                           

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