Darkish matter collisions could present up within the infrared on Jupiter
The darkish facet of Jupiter at midnight is likely to be aglow with the fallout of dark matter collisions. That’s what a pair of researchers claimed in a paper revealed June 27, 2024, within the peer-reviewed Bodily Overview Letters. Darkish matter, mixed with darkish power, makes up 95% of our universe. However, to this point, we haven’t been in a position to detect dark matter (or darkish power) instantly. We will solely see its results. Now comes one other dark matter impact, on this case taking the type of an unexplained glow within the ambiance of Jupiter.
Carlos Blanco of Princeton College in New Jersey and Rebecca Leane of the SLAC Nationwide Accelerator Laboratory in California mentioned dark matter particles could also be colliding in Jupiter’s ambiance. In that case, the collisions would produce infrared gentle. Plus, these scientists mentioned, we must always see an extra of ions containing three hydrogen nuclei and solely two electrons, or trihydrogen cations (H3+). The researchers said:
We apply this search technique to the night time facet of Jupiter close to the equator. The night time facet has zero solar irradiation, and low latitudes are sufficiently removed from ionizing auroras, resulting in a low-background search.
H3+ is probably the most plentiful cation (optimistic cost) within the universe. Found in 1911, it’s produced when hydrogen comes underneath intense strain. And it’s secure in interstellar space, however breaks down underneath gravity. Discovering it in extra on Jupiter is likely to be a telltale signal of dark matter colliding within the planet’s outer ambiance.
Utilizing a mission to Saturn to check Jupiter
Blanco and Leane used information gathered in the course of the Cassini-Huygens mission’s flyby of the immense gas giant Jupiter on its solution to the ringed world Saturn. Through the mission, the Saturn-bound probe used Jupiter’s gravity to speed up because it flew deeper into the solar system.
The examine checked out information from Cassini-Huygens taken three hours on both facet of the Jovian darkish facet’s midnight. The info are from 2000, however Blanco and Leane solely lately analyzed them. They had been looking for a glow in infrared gentle. That gentle might be coming from dark matter colliding with itself after being sucked into Jupiter’s gravity well. The paper stated:
This will probably be produced if dark matter scatters and is captured by planets, and consequently annihilates, producing ionizing radiation. To provide detectable H3+, the dark matter should produce ionization within the planet’s ionosphere.
The charged particles are then funneled to Jupiter’s poles by its intense magnetic area. The researchers discovered the sign of dark matter collisions they anticipated, maybe giving us one other solution to detect the elusive substance. They usually mentioned the identical approach might be used to find dark matter on Jupiter-like exoplanets.
Extra research wanted to verify dark matter collisions
Of their paper, Blanco and Leane lay out how H3+ is normally produced and the way astronomers detect it utilizing spectroscopy. A number of the interactions that may produce H3+ embrace cosmic rays, excessive ultraviolet stellar irradiation, planetary lightning or electrons accelerated in planetary magnetic fields. However wanting on the Cassini-Huygens information, they discovered a transparent extra of H3+ on Jupiter’s darkish facet than these sources can produce.
So, is dark matter accountable? The scientists mentioned they’ll want extra research to be fully sure. The surplus might be from an undiscovered supply, however Blanco and Leane don’t suppose so. They said:
We now have identified and proven for the primary time that dark matter can produce ionizing radiation in planetary atmospheres, which is detectable via a smoking-gun extra of atmospheric trihydrogen cations.
Increasing the search past Jupiter
In the event that they’re proper, then their methods may result in detecting dark matter in additional unique locals than the solar system. The paper said:
We additionally confirmed that exoplanets in denser dark matter environments such because the internal galaxy may present even stronger sensitivities to dark matter atmospheric ionization. Whereas an inner-galaxy search wouldn’t profit from low-latitude searches, as auroras wouldn’t be capable of be distinguished with the decision of present telescopes, the dark matter ionization price nonetheless could be considerably bigger than auroral backgrounds.
And in the case of exoplanets, the larger the higher. So-called super-Jupiters, with their monumental gravity, would collect and annihilate much more dark matter than puny Jupiter. Such analysis would require higher astronomical devices. We’ll have to attend for future missions just like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to search out out.
Backside line: Researchers suppose dark matter collisions make Jupiter’s ambiance glow in infrared gentle. If true, it might present one other solution to detect the mysterious substance.
Source: Search for Dark Matter Ionization on the Night Side of Jupiter with Cassini
Read more: Did colliding dark matter shape the El Gordo galaxy cluster?
Read more: Can we detect dark matter using light from pulsars?
