What if we never find dark matter? Why the hunt for the invisible universe is testing the limits of known physics
Physicists are continuing the search for dark matter, which remains undetected despite being essential to current cosmological models. If direct detection continues to fail, scientists may need to reconsider fundamental theories of gravity or explore exotic particle candidates.
Why it matters
Understanding dark matter is crucial for completing our knowledge of the universe's composition and the fundamental laws of physics.
One of the biggest mysteries in the Universe is that all the stars, galaxies, gas clouds and planets we can see – all the 'regular' stuff in the Universe – makes up just 5% of the cosmos.
As a result, the structure of the Universe only really makes sense if there is a lot of mass that we can't see.
This is dark matter . An invisible substance that we know must be there because of its gravitational effects, but which we've never directly detected.
Dark matter experiments grow more sensitive every year and the range of possible dark matter particle candidates keeps shrinking.
The mainstream answer is not to abandon dark matter.
The gravitational evidence for its existence is too robust: galaxy rotation curves, gravitational lensing, the way galaxy clusters behave when they collide, and many other observations all point the same way.
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