In a distant universe, the clash of two extremely dense, collapsed stars can help reveal secrets Axion – a candidate for dark matter, first proposed half a century ago.
The remains of these stars are neutron stars formed after the collapse of massive stars. These “dead” stars are so dense that their electrons are collapsed to protons, forming a neutron star. Their extreme density makes them a place to study exotic physics, in particular, they are offered as a source of axion – hypothetical particles that can contribute to the content of the dark matter of the universe.
New research, published at the beginning of this month in the journal Physical Review Letters, limits the possibility of interaction Axion-like particles with photons based on spectral and temporary data on the confluence of neutron stars that occurred about 130 light years from us.
Axion-like particles (ALP) are a more general class of hypothetical candidates in dark matter than axions. Scientists believe that their nature can be disclosed by studying photons and limiting the range of the masses of these particles. Axion-like particles that arose as a result of the merger of neutron stars come out of the rest of the merger and break up back into two photons, producing an electromagnetic signal that can be detected by telescopes. The data were collected from observations of the collision in 2017, conducted using the Fermi space telescope.
“The merger of neutron stars represents a unique opportunity to get a photon signal,” said the physicist Bhupal Virgin from the University of Washington in St. Louis and the leading author of the study in a telephone conversation with Gizmodo. “We can use this data to study new physics outside the standard model.”
Dark matter, apparently, is 27% of the universe, but it interacts so poorly with the usual substance that scientists can only detect it through its gravitational effects on the visible substance. Among the popular candidates in dark matter are WIMP (weakly interacting massive particles), hidden (or dark) photons, massive compact galleys (Macho) and, of course, axions.
Axion – a hypothetical particle proposed in the 1970s as a solution to the problem