The mystery of dark matter might be solved in as little as 10 seconds, Science Alert reports.
According to astrophysicists at the University of California, Berkeley, the next nearby supernova could provide the breakthrough needed to confirm the existence of axions—one of the most promising candidates for dark matter.
When a supernova occurs, it can emit an enormous amount of energy in a very short period of time. Researchers believe that within the first 10 seconds of such an event, a burst of axions—hypothetical particles—could be released. If detected, these axions could offer evidence of dark matter.
Axions were first proposed in the 1970s to solve a different physics problem, the strong CP problem, but it was later realized that their unique properties might also make them a key component of dark matter. Axions are predicted to have a very small mass, no electric charge, and are thought to interact only weakly with ordinary matter, making them difficult to detect.
One of the key features that make axions detectable is that under certain conditions, such as strong magnetic fields, axions could decay into photons (light particles). This decay process, known as the axion-photon conversion, could potentially reveal axions if observed through gamma-ray telescopes.
Neutron stars, with their intense magnetic fields, are considered one of the best places to search for axions. However, the best time to catch them in action may be during the collapse of a massive star into a supernova. During the first 10 seconds following the explosion, simulations suggest that axions would be produced in significant quantities, and some would be converted into detectable gamma rays.
The team at UC Berkeley believes that the Fermi Space Telescope, which currently has a 1 in 10 chance of catching such an event, is the only tool capable of detecting this signal. However, their research also proposes a more ambitious solution: launching the GALactic AXion Instrument for Supernova (GALAXIS). This fleet of gamma-ray satellites would be able to observe 100% of the sky at all times, significantly improving the chances of catching a supernova at just the right moment.
Benjamin Safdi, an associate professor of physics at UC Berkeley, expressed concern that without the right instruments in place, the opportunity to detect axions could be missed.
“It would be a real shame if a supernova went off tomorrow and we missed an opportunity,” he said.
Safdi noted that another chance might not come for another 50 years.
If axions are indeed detected, their discovery could unlock answers to several longstanding mysteries in physics, including the nature of dark matter, the strong CP problem, and the matter-antimatter imbalance. In the best-case scenario, if Fermi catches a supernova explosion in the right part of the sky, scientists could potentially measure the mass and interaction strength of axions, confirming their existence and advancing our understanding of the universe.
The research, which outlines these possibilities, was published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
