IIT Guwahati, Global Scientists Explore Dark Matter Impact

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, along with international collaborators, have made a significant breakthrough in understanding dark matter’s mysterious influence on the universe’s structure and evolution. Their findings, published in Physical Review D, shed light on a fundamental question in cosmology: how did the universe end up with a surplus of matter over antimatter, leading to the formation of stars, galaxies, and ultimately, life itself?

Dark Matter and the Matter-Antimatter Imbalance

We know that dark matter makes up a staggering 85% of the universe’s mass. Yet, it remains invisible to our telescopes, as it interacts very weakly with regular matter and light. This enigmatic substance has puzzled scientists for decades. The latest research from IIT Guwahati proposes a novel theory that tackles two cosmic mysteries at once: dark matter’s nature and the origin of the matter-antimatter imbalance estimated to be around 1 in 1 billion.

The team suggests a unique type of dark matter – a “singlet fermion” – that interacts with a special field called a “scalar field.” This interaction, according to the theory, influences the dark matter’s behavior in the early universe.

Dark Matter to Regular Matter: The Early Universe’s Transformation

The researchers propose that during the universe’s incredibly hot and dense early stages, with temperatures reaching a scorching 10 trillion Kelvin, this singlet fermion dark matter could decay into regular matter due to temperature effects. This decay process would have tipped the scales in favor of matter over antimatter, creating the asymmetry we observe today.

As the universe cooled and expanded, the decay process would have ceased, leaving behind a stable form of the singlet fermion – the dark matter we see today, estimated to comprise 27% of the universe’s total energy density. This theory offers a potential explanation for both the existence of dark matter and the dominance of matter in the universe.

IIT Guwahati’s Contribution to Unraveling Cosmic Mysteries

This research by IIT Guwahati and its international partners is a significant step forward in our understanding of dark matter and the universe’s formation. It highlights the institute’s leading role in unraveling some of cosmology’s most enduring enigmas. Further investigations and analyses are needed to validate this theory, potentially through upcoming dark matter detection experiments. But this new perspective offers a promising avenue for future research in this captivating field.

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