Washington, Sept 20 (ANI): Scientists might now be able to capture evidence of dark matter- the invisible substance thought to constitute much of the universe - thanks to a new method discovered by researchers from Princeton University and New York University.
The team has unveiled a ready-made method for detecting the collision of stars with an elusive type of black hole that is on the short list of objects believed to make up dark matter.
Such a discovery could serve as observable proof of dark matter and provide a much deeper understanding of the universe's inner workings.
Postdoctoral researchers Shravan Hanasoge of Princeton's Department of Geosciences and Michael Kesden of NYU's Centre for Cosmology and Particle Physics simulated the visible result of a primordial black hole passing through a star.
Theoretical remnants of the Big Bang, primordial black holes possess the properties of dark matter and are one of various cosmic objects thought to be the source of the mysterious substance, but they have yet to be observed.
If primordial black holes are the source of dark matter, the sheer number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy-roughly 100 billion-makes an encounter inevitable, the authors report.
Unlike larger black holes, a primordial black hole would not "swallow" the star, but cause noticeable vibrations on the star's surface as it passes through.
Thus, as the number of telescopes and satellites probing distant stars in the Milky Way increases, so do the chances to observe a primordial black hole as it slides harmlessly through one of the galaxy's billions of stars, Hanasoge said.
The computer model developed by Hanasoge and Kesden can be used with these current solar-observation techniques to offer a more precise method for detecting primordial black holes than existing tools.
"Now that we know primordial black holes can produce detectable vibrations in stars, we could try to look at a larger sample of stars than just our own sun," Kesden said.
"The Milky Way has 100 billion stars, so about 10,000 detectable events should be happening every year in our galaxy if we just knew where to look," he added.
The discovery was published in the journal Physical Review Letters this month. (ANI)
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