For decades, Dark matter It was considered a mystery that could only be reached through its effects. But never observe directly. It is known that they influence the behavior of the universe, but in any case, His presence continued to raise more questions than answers. That picture is starting to change thanks to recent work by Professor Tomonori Totani, of the University of Tokyo, who analyzed data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and claimed to have found an energy pattern It matches what was expected from theoretical dark matter particle annihilation.
Despite the great role it plays in the functioning of the universe, Everything known so far about dark matter comes from indirect signals. Their effects have been studied on the way galaxies hold together, on how large structures in the universe form, and on variations in the motion of stars. Each of these observations indicates its existence, But none of them could show it directly.
The biggest hurdle is that the particles are associated with dark matter They do not react to electromagnetic forceWhich prevents it from absorbing, reflecting or emitting light. In other words, They are invisible to traditional tools. This characteristic has undoubtedly turned them into the center of one of the most disturbing mysteries of modern physics.
Research published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle PhysicsMake an immediate impact among professionals around the world. There, Tomonori Totani made a statement that sparked interest in the scientific community: “If this is true, as far as I know, This will be the first time humanity has seen dark matter. It turns out that dark matter is a new particle not included in the current Standard Model of particle physics. “This represents a major advance in astronomy and physics.”
The work went back to one of the most studied hypotheses in decades: Dark matter will consist of weakly interacting massive particles, known as WIMPs. According to theoretical models, when two of these particles collide, they annihilate and release gamma-ray photons with a very specific energy. This prediction directed the search toward regions of the universe with high concentrations of dark matter.Especially galactic centers, although telescopes, underground detectors and colliders have been unable to produce conclusive evidence for years.
That panorama changed with The ability of the Fermi telescope to detect the most energetic photons. Totani analyzed his latest data and claimed to have identified gamma rays approaching 20 GeV, distributed in a halo around the center of the Milky Way. According to their interpretation, the intensity and spatial pattern of that signal were determined It will coincide with what is expected to annihilate WIMP particles The mass is about 500 times greater than that of a proton, which reinforced the idea that it would not be a conventional astrophysical phenomenon.
Although the signal does not solve the mystery of dark matter, it does provide insight Possibility of direct evidence. If confirmed, experts should revise the standard model to incorporate this new component A key to understanding the distribution of matter in the universe. Regarding his discovery, Totani said: “This could be a decisive advance in uncovering the nature of dark matter,” although he admitted that it was not. There are still astrophysical alternatives that need to be evaluated before arriving at a final conclusion.