Observatory in astronomy indicates the presence of “dark matter”, which is more than 80% of all matter in the universe. It interacts with visible matter mainly through gravitational forces, and the lack of interaction with photons and makes it “dark.”
According to a promising theoretical approach, dark matter can be composed of particles that behave more like waves than individual particles. Scientists refer to these particles as “ultra-legged” particles of dark matter, as they may cause the smallest fluctuations in a constant thin structure.
A team of researchers from ptb conducted an experiment to search for ultra-legged dark matter. They used a clock that is highly sensitive to potential changes in the constant thin structure. Over the course of several months, the clock was compared with two other atomic clocks that had less sensitivity.
The results of the measurements did not show significant fluctuations that are characteristic of ultra-legged dark matter. This means that dark matter continues to remain “dark” even after a more thorough examination. However, the absence of the signal allowed the researchers to establish new experimental upper limits for the potential interaction of ultra-legged matter with photons. These new limits are more than ten times better than the previous ones.
Additionally, the researchers investigated whether the constant thin structure changes over time. They found no variation in this regard, indicating that the constant remains unchanged even over long time intervals.
This experiment represents an important milestone in the development of more compact and reliable optical methods for frequency comparisons. These methods could be essential in future space missions aimed at searching for dark matter.