Science: How to find dark matter

Center: Milky Way galaxy
Left: Small Magellanic Cloud
Lower left: Large Magellanic Cloud


Physicists seem to have figured out a plausible way to detect the presence of dark matter. At present, dark matter is believed to be ~85% of all matter un the universe. We just can't see or detect it. The rest is regular matter like sticks, rocks, bullets, thermonuclear bombs, potatoes, fish and fuzzy kittens that can be used to mediate various kinds of interactions between people and whatnot. 

The detection idea is actually pretty simple. All we need to do is put up a slew of satellites that detect high energy gamma rays and wait for a nearby supernova explosion that precedes the formation of a neutron star. Nearby means in the Milky Way galaxy (~400 billion stars, maybe a lot more) or one of our two close galactic neighbors, i.e., the Large Magellanic Cloud (~30 billion stars), 160,000 light years from Earth and the Small Magellanic Cloud (~3 billion stars), 190,000 light years away. Both are gravitationally bound to the Milky Way. The little squirts are expected to collide with the Milky Way in the future. 

OT finance note: Buying an intergalactic collision insurance policy is a good way to protect your and your loved ones from external galactic financial stresses!

Dark matter particles, undetected so far, are called axions
  
A nearby supernova could end the search for dark matter

Axion dark matter should be produced and converted to gamma rays during a supernova. Will we be lucky enough to see them?

Axions are the most likely candidate for enigmatic dark matter that dominates the universe. Astrophysicists are searching for evidence of high-mass axions produced during supernovae. Scientists propose that a quick way to find these axions is to look for a gamma ray burst coincident with a neutrino burst from a nearby core collapse supernova. But we need a fleet of gamma ray telescopes to insure we capture these rare events.

Astrophysicists at the University of California, Berkeley, now argue that the axion could be discovered within seconds of the detection of gamma rays from a nearby supernova explosion. Axions, if they exist, would be produced in copious quantities during the first 10 seconds after the core collapse of a massive star into a neutron star, and those axions would escape and be transformed into high-energy gamma rays in the star's intense magnetic field.  

GALAXIS: Galactic Axion Instrument for Supernova
Proto NS (PNS) = a star before it blows up and becomes a NS (neutron star)

They predict that a gamma ray detection would allow them to identify the QCD axion mass if it is above 50 microelectron volts (micro-eV, or μeV), or about one 10-billionth the mass of the electron. A single detection could refocus existing experiments to confirm the mass of the axion, [Benjamin Safdi, UC Berkeley associate professor of physics] said. While a fleet of dedicated gamma-ray telescopes is the best option for detecting gamma rays from a nearby supernova, a lucky break with Fermi would be even better.

"The best-case scenario for axions is Fermi* catches a supernova. It's just that the chance of that is small," Safdi said. "But if Fermi saw it, we'd be able to measure its mass. We'd be able to measure its interaction strength. We'd be able to determine everything we need to know about the axion, and we'd be incredibly confident in the signal because there's no ordinary matter which could create such an event." (emphasis added)

* Fermi: The Gamma-ray Space Telescope, also known as the Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope) is a space observatory (satellite) designed to conduct gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit. Fermi detects high-energy gamma rays, making it suitable for potentially observing gamma-ray bursts associated with supernovae and searching for evidence of axions.
There we have it. Put up satellites that scan all nearby areas of space and then just wait for a big star to blow up and then collapse into a neutron star. Easy peasy, fun and parcheesi.


PNS = proto neutron star

Nope, I don't understand that either.


Too bad the labeling is fuzzy ☹️, but this is
the best I could find



By Germaine

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