By measuring the rotation of the gas and stars that make up our galaxy, scientists have found that there is a large amount of dark matter between the Solar System and the center of the Milky Way.
Dark matter is one of the great mysteries of the universe. According to the researchers’ calculations, it is five times more abundant than ordinary matter, that composed of atoms and that we know more deeply. The problem with this enigmatic matter is that it is very difficult to detect, as it does not emit visible light or other radiation. So, how have these researchers, with the participation of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), obtained for the first time a proof of the presence of dark matter?
As explained by the director of the study, Fabio Iocco, a researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, in Madrid, “the existence of dark matter was firmly established in the 1970s with various techniques, including measuring the rotation speed of the gas and stars , which provides an effective way to weigh the host galaxy and determine its total mass ”.
Something was wrong. Thanks to a complete analysis of the measurements of the movement of gas and stars and comparing it with the expected rotation speed in the event that only luminous matter existed, they realized that something was wrong. In fact, it is not that it failed, but that to explain all the measured movements one more factor was needed in the calculation: dark matter. In the words of Iocco himself, ” we have shown that the observed rotation cannot be explained unless there are large amounts of dark matter around us, and between us and the galactic center.”
After this first direct observation of the presence of dark matter in the innermost part of the Milky Way, the next step seems clear: to establish its exact position within our galaxy . The study has been published in the journal Nature Physics.
