” It was surprising that this excess could in concept have actually been triggered by dark energy rather than dark matter. About 27% is dark matter– the invisible force holding galaxies and the cosmic web together– while 68% is dark energy, which causes the universe to broaden at a sped up rate.
“We checked out a model in which this signal might be attributable to dark energy, rather than the dark matter the experiment was initially created to discover.”
To conceal the 5th force, numerous designs for dark energy are geared up with so-called screening systems, which dynamically hide the fifth force.
Their calculations recommend that experiments like XENON1T, which are designed to find dark matter, might also be used to detect dark energy.
Dark energy, the mystical force that causes deep space to accelerate, might have been accountable for unanticipated results from the XENON1T experiment, deep below Italys Apennine Mountains.
A new study, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge and reported in the journal Physical Evaluation D, suggests that some unusual arise from the XENON1T experiment in Italy might have been triggered by dark energy, and not the dark matter the experiment was designed to spot.
They built a physical model to help explain the outcomes, which may have stemmed from dark energy particles produced in a region of the Sun with strong electromagnetic fields, although future experiments will be required to validate this explanation. The scientists state their study might be an essential step toward the direct detection of dark energy.
Everything our eyes can see in the skies and in our everyday world– from tiny moons to huge galaxies, from ants to blue whales– comprises less than five percent of the universe. The rest is dark. About 27% is dark matter– the unnoticeable force holding galaxies and the cosmic web together– while 68% is dark energy, which triggers deep space to expand at an accelerated rate.
” Despite both elements being invisible, we understand a lot more about dark matter, considering that its existence was suggested as early as the 1920s, while dark energy wasnt found until 1998,” said Dr. Sunny Vagnozzi from Cambridges Kavli Institute for Cosmology, the papers very first author. “Large-scale experiments like XENON1T have actually been developed to straight spot dark matter, by looking for signs of dark matter hitting normal matter, but dark energy is much more evasive.”
To discover dark energy, researchers generally try to find gravitational interactions: the way gravity pulls objects around. And on the largest scales, the gravitational impact of dark energy is repulsive, pulling things far from each other and making deep spaces expansion speed up.
About a year ago, the XENON1T experiment reported an unanticipated signal, or excess, over the anticipated background. “These sorts of excesses are often flukes, once in a while they can also lead to basic discoveries,” stated Dr. Luca Visinelli, a researcher at Frascati National Laboratories in Italy, a co-author of the research study. “We explored a design in which this signal could be attributable to dark energy, instead of the dark matter the experiment was initially developed to discover.”
At the time, the most popular description for the excess were axions– theoretical, very light particles– produced in the Sun. This explanation does not stand up to observations, considering that the amount of axions that would be needed to explain the XENON1T signal would considerably modify the evolution of stars much heavier than the Sun, in conflict with what we observe.
We are far from completely understanding what dark energy is, but most physical models for dark energy would cause the existence of a so-called 5th force. There are 4 basic forces in the universe, and anything that cant be discussed by one of these forces is in some cases referred to as the outcome of an unidentified 5th force.
We know that Einsteins theory of gravity works incredibly well in the local universe. Therefore, any 5th force associated to dark energy is undesirable and need to be concealed or screened when it pertains to little scales, and can just operate on the largest scales where Einsteins theory of gravity fails to discuss the acceleration of deep space. To hide the fifth force, many designs for dark energy are equipped with so-called screening systems, which dynamically conceal the 5th force.
Vagnozzi and his co-authors built a physical design, which utilized a kind of evaluating system known as chameleon screening, to reveal that dark energy particles produced in the Suns strong magnetic fields might discuss the XENON1T excess.
” Our chameleon evaluating close down the production of dark energy particles in extremely dense items, avoiding the issues dealt with by solar axions,” stated Vagnozzi. “It likewise permits us to decouple what takes place in the regional very dense Universe from what occurs on the biggest scales, where the density is extremely low.”
The scientists utilized their design to show what would happen in the detector if the dark energy was produced in a particular area of the Sun, called the tachocline, where the electromagnetic fields are particularly strong.
” It was truly unexpected that this excess might in concept have actually been triggered by dark energy instead of dark matter,” stated Vagnozzi. “When things click together like that, its actually unique.”
Their computations suggest that experiments like XENON1T, which are developed to detect dark matter, could also be used to find dark energy. “If XENON1T actually saw something, you d anticipate to see a comparable excess again in future experiments, but this time with a much more powerful signal.”
If the excess was the result of dark energy, upcoming upgrades to the XENON1T experiment, along with experiments pursuing similar goals such as LUX-Zeplin and PandaX-xT, indicate that it might be possible to directly spot dark energy within the next years.
Referral: “Direct detection of dark energy: The XENON1T excess and future prospects” by Sunny Vagnozzi, Luca Visinelli, Philippe Brax, Anne-Christine Davis and Jeremy Sakstein, 15 September 2021, Physical Review D.DOI: 10.1103/ PhysRevD.104.063023.
” It was surprising that this excess might in concept have actually been triggered by dark energy rather than dark matter. When things click together like that, its actually special.”– Sunny Vagnozzi
