science

14445 readers

1 users here now

just science related topics. please contribute

note: clickbait sources/headlines aren't liked generally. I've posted crap sources and later deleted or edit to improve after complaints. whoops, sry

Rule 1) Be kind.

lemmy.world rules: https://mastodon.world/about

I don't screen everything, lrn2scroll

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Dark photons could explain high-energy scattering data (physicsworld.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Indirect evidence of ‘dark photons’ has been spotted in the shrapnel of thousands of particle-smashing experiments. This could provide a glimpse into the mysterious nature of dark matter — which seems to make up most of the mass of the universe but is almost impossible to observe, other than by its gravitational effects. “The story is something like this: there could be an additional dark sector, where dark matter resides,” says particle physicist Carlos Wagner. Dark photons, if they exist, could weakly interact with normal matter, offering a window into the dark sector.

top 6 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Maybe a really silly question, but if there's possibly a "dark sector" with "dark matter", could there also be "dark lifeforms"? Even if it's only simple life, but made of dark matter?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Based on what we know, dark matter doesn't seem to collide with anything - not even itself. If we are correct (and if I am not mistaken), there doesn't seem to be enough complexity in its dynamics to support life.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In what way does dark matter interact with matter/light that people think it exists, is it gravitational?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Yes, DM interacts gravitationally with itself and normal particles.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

There could probably be anything. Since dark matter is, by definition, something we can't observe directly and can only infer what we know

[–] slurp 1 points 1 year ago

No, not based on what we have (indirectly) observed. Dark matter either doesn't interact electromagnetically, or so extremely weakly that it doesn't seem to affect it's distribution throughout galaxies. A purely gravitationally interacting, extremely low density lifeform must be impossible due to the lacking complexity that allows.