Researchers investigating a potential hidden force between dark matter particles found that it may paradoxically suppress the growth of cosmic structures rather than accelerating them.
Key facts
- •The study was published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.
- •Researchers investigated theoretical models where dark matter particles interact through a long-range force in addition to gravity.
- •The hidden force causes dark matter particles to effectively lose mass as the Universe expands.
- •The reduction in mass weakens the gravitational influence of dark matter, which suppresses the growth of cosmic structure.
- •The findings may influence existing theories that attempt to explain recent data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.
A new study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics suggests that dark matter may interact through a hidden force beyond gravity. While researchers initially hypothesized that an additional attractive force would accelerate the formation of cosmic structures, their findings indicate that the interaction actually tends to slow this growth over time.
The Mechanism of Hidden Interactions
Scientists at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics explored models where dark matter particles experience a long-range force that ordinary matter cannot detect. By combining theoretical calculations with existing cosmological data, the team analyzed how this interaction influences the expansion of the Universe and the development of large-scale structures. While the extra force causes dark matter to cluster more effectively, the process simultaneously changes how the particles behave as the Universe expands. The researchers found that this interaction causes dark matter particles to effectively lose mass over time, which weakens their gravitational influence and offsets the increased attraction.
Implications for Cosmological Models
The study addresses discrepancies between current observations of cosmic expansion and the standard cosmological model. Some measurements of the distant Universe suggest slower expansion than predicted, while studies of the cosmic microwave background indicate that matter may be more tightly clustered than expected. According to Zachary Weiner, the study's corresponding author, these findings suggest that any theory involving a hidden attractive force must account for the reduction in gravitational influence caused by the effective mass loss of dark matter. This mechanism may also impact other complex models, including those proposed to explain recent measurements from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by ScienceDaily.
