The thriller of dark matter, the enigmatic substance that makes up 27 % of the universe, has plagued astronomers for many years. Regardless of ample proof throughout the universe hinting at its presence, dark matter has by no means been seen straight. “We merely don’t know what it’s,” says Gopi Mohlabeng, a theoretical particle physicist on the College of California, Irvine. Mohlabeng, 33, is making an attempt to alter that by developing with new concepts for what dark matter may appear like and the way it may lastly be detected.
His physics journey began with watching the Honey, I Shrunk the Children film collection at a younger age. That sparked an preliminary curiosity in turning into an inventor, which became a ardour for physics in highschool. He went on to review physics and astrophysics as an undergraduate and earned his doctorate from the College of Kansas in 2017.
Right this moment, Mohlabeng creates theoretical fashions for dark matter particles. He additionally suggests methods these particles could possibly be detected with present and future experiments just like the Giant Hadron Collider, James Webb House Telescope, or the Sq. Kilometer Array — a radio telescope underneath development in Mohlabeng’s house nation of South Africa that’s set to grow to be the world’s largest facility of its variety.
“I believe that the subsequent 5 to 10 years goes to be a golden age for particle physics,” Mohlabeng says. “We’re going to have lots of knowledge for theorists like me to work on.”
When he’s not at work fixing the mysteries of dark matter, Mohlabeng likes to spend time inspiring the subsequent era of scientists by means of outreach, significantly with underrepresented teams and younger college students of colour.
“Anybody could be a physicist,” Mohlabeng stated. “It’s all about having a ardour for physics and making an attempt to grasp as a lot as you’ll be able to.”
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