Astronomers go hunting for mysterious q-balls

Our universe could function massive, macroscopic clumps of dark matter generally known as q-balls. These q-balls could be completely invisible, however they might reveal their presence by way of tiny magnifications of starlight.

We don’t presently perceive the character of dark matter. However we do know that it exists. A number of unbiased traces of proof all point out that the overwhelming majority of matter within the universe doesn’t work together with mild or with regular matter. It’s, for all intents and functions, invisible. However we are able to see the proof for dark matter in every single place we glance by way of its gravitational influence on regular matter. For instance, galaxies rotate far too shortly given the quantity of seen matter within them. Clusters of galaxies have gasoline that’s far too sizzling to be accounted for by regular matter. Even the event of the large-scale construction of the universe occurred too quickly for the quantity of matter that we are able to see.

Till now we have a greater understanding of dark matter and its nature, we should work to develop concepts of what it is likely to be. Most theories of dark matter assume that It’s some unique form of fermion. Fermions are the kind of matter which might be the constructing blocks of nature, like electrons and protons. However different theories of dark matter are somewhat extra unique, arguing that it is likely to be a type of boson. Bosons are usually related to the pressure carriers of nature, just like the photon that carries the electromagnetic force and the gluon that carries the sturdy nuclear pressure.

However dark matter could also be a wholly new form of boson. Whether it is, it might need some surprisingly unusual properties. For instance, this unique type of dark matter might not be fully easy all through a galaxy. As a substitute it might type secure clumps the scale of stars. Often called q-balls, these clumps would stay secure however invisible, drifting by way of each galaxy.

In a latest paper revealed on the arXiv preprint server, a workforce of the astrophysicists have proposed a technique to seek for q-balls. As a result of they don’t emit or take up mild, we will not search for them by way of the traditional astronomical strategies. However q-balls would nonetheless have a whole lot of matter compressed into a comparatively small quantity. This will bend the trail of sunshine the identical as every other huge object within the universe.

If a q-ball had been to occur to cross by way of our line of sight to a distant star, then as we had been watching that star the sunshine would get quickly bent and magnified in an impact known as microlensing. The impact could be extremely tiny however in precept measurable.

In actual fact the workforce behind the paper took present microlensing surveys to see if they might rule out the existence of q-balls. They discovered that if q-balls exist, they’ll solely comprise up to a couple p.c of all of the dark matter within the universe.

The outcomes aren’t conclusive by hook or by crook, however they do signify yet another step in the direction of understanding the character of dark matter.