What is dark matter in cosmology?
Dark matter is mass that does not emit or reflect detectable electromagnetic radiation, yet is detectable by its gravitational effect on other, luminous, matter. Dark matter has been inferred to exist in galaxies and on larger scales in the universe, but not in the solar system.
Is dark matter an element?
Dark matter may be made of baryonic or non-baryonic matter. To hold the elements of the universe together, dark matter must make up approximately 80\% percent of the universe. The missing matter could simply be more challenging to detect, made up of regular, baryonic matter.
Can we see dark matter in the electromagnetic spectrum?
Neither dark matter nor dark energy can be seen in the electromagnetic spectrum—that’s why it’s “dark”—whereas the cosmic background radiation is electromagnetic radiation.
How do Astronomers study the distribution of dark matter?
Astronomers study the distribution of dark matter through observing its gravitational effects on ordinary matter in its vicinity and through its gravitational lensing effects on background radiation. The background image shows the bullet cluster, a famous example where the visible matter does not follow the mass distribution.
Is there any experimental evidence of gamma ray radiation from dark matter?
The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, as well as some other experiments, are actively looking for such a signal. However, so far, there is no experimental evidence of radiation from dark matter (gamma-ray or otherwise). The Rock reveals the key to success for normal people.
Is there a new form of matter?
The simplest explanation for these phenomena is the existence of a new particle, since essentially all ideas involving known forms of matter have already been ruled out. No dark matter particle has been observed directly with any kind of particle detector, so many of its properties remain unknown.