Physics – Nuclear Physics
Scientific paper
Oct 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998aps..dnp..a102r&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, Division of Nuclear Physics Meeting, October 28-31, 1998 Santa Fe, New Mexico, abstract #A1.02
Physics
Nuclear Physics
Scientific paper
There is abundant evidence for a significant matter density in the universe. While this matter density Ω_mat may be less than unity (in units of critical density, the density that just arrests outward expansion of the universe), no data suggests Ω_mat less than 0.2, let alone 0.1 or below. This lower limit to the matter density is especially significant as the baryonic component of the universe Ω_bar inferred from our understanding of primordial nucleosynthesis and measurements of light element abundance is now known---within tight bounds---to be much smaller yet. The gap between Ω_mat and Ω_bar is presumably filled by dark matter, an exotic non-baryonic form of matter. This same conclusion is supported by study of the power-spectrum structure in the Universe, with general result that a significant cold dark matter component (CDM, cold in the sense of moving slowly when they freeze-out in the early universe) is required, along with a small baryonic component and possibly a small hot dark matter component (HDM, hot in the sense of moving relativistically at freeze-out). The nature of this dark matter---making up 90% or so of the mass in the universe---and especially elucidating the nature of the dominant exotic CDM component, is one of the central issues in science. Favored candidates for CDM---axions, WIMPS and the like---are exotic particles inspired by modern ideas in nuclear and particle physics. By its nature, dark matter interacts extraordinarily feebly with ordinary matter and radiation, with detection correspondingly difficult. Nonetheless, there are exquisitely sensitive searches ongoing and planned around the world with the more sensitive searches poised to detect realistic dark matter candidates. This presentation is an overview of dark matter and dark matter searches, emphasizing recent progress and future directions.
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