In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that is inferred to exist from gravitational effects on visible matter and

background radiation, but is undetectable by emitted or scattered electromagnetic radiation.[1] Its existence was hypothesized to

account for discrepancies between measurements of the mass of galaxies, clusters of galaxies and the entire universe made

through dynamical and general relativistic means, and measurements based on the mass of the visible "luminous" matter these

objects contain: stars and the gas and dust of the interstellar and intergalactic medium.

According to observations of structures larger than galaxies, as well as Big Bang cosmology interpreted under the Friedmann

equations and the FLRW metric, dark matter accounts for 23% of the mass-energy density of the observable universe. In

comparison, ordinary matter accounts for only 4.6% of the mass-energy density of the observable universe, with the remainder

being attributable to dark energy.[2][3] From these figures, dark matter constitutes 80% of the matter in the universe, while ordinary

matter makes up only 20%.

Dark matter was postulated by Fritz Zwicky in 1934 to account for evidence of "missing mass" in the orbital velocities

of galaxies in clusters. Subsequently, other observations have indicated the presence of dark matter in the universe; these

observations include the rotational speeds of galaxies, gravitational lensingof background objects by galaxy clusters such as

the Bullet Cluster, and the temperature distribution of hot gas in galaxies and clusters of galaxies.

Dark matter plays a central role in state-of-the-art modeling of structure formation and galaxy evolution, and has measurable effects

on the anisotropiesobserved in the cosmic microwave background. All these lines of evidence suggest that galaxies, clusters of

galaxies, and the universe as a whole contain far more matter than that which interacts with electromagnetic radiation. The largest

part of dark matter, which does not interact with electromagnetic radiation, is not only "dark" but also, by definition, utterly

transparent.[4]

As important as dark matter is believed to be in the cosmos, direct evidence of its existence and a concrete understanding of its

nature have remained elusive. Though the theory of dark matter remains the most widely accepted theory to explain the anomalies

in observed galactic rotation, some alternative theoretical approaches have been developed which broadly fall into the categories of

modified gravitational laws, and quantum gravitational laws.[5]

When you look up at night, you see myriads of stars spread across the sky. When astronomers
look into the deepest reaches of the universe with powerful telescopes, they see myriads of
galaxies, organized into large clusters and other structures. This might lead you to believe that
the universe is composed mainly of galaxies, stars, gas and dust -- things that you can see.
However, most astronomers believe that visible matter makes up only a small fraction of the
mass of the universe. The majority of the universe is made of stuff we can't see -- so-called dark
matter. Exactly what is dark matter? How can we detect it? What is its importance in the
universe as a whole?
In this article, we'll examine these questions. We will look at the evidence for dark matter, how it
can be detected and studied, the nature of dark matter, and how it helps define the structure and
fate of the universe.

What is Dark Matter?

Simply put, dark matter cannot be seen by astronomers with telescopes. It doesn't emit or reflect
enough light to detect, so it's not bright, like a star. Atoms, molecules and subatomic particles are
dark matter. You and I are dark matter. Everything on Earth is dark matter. Planets, brown dwarf
stars and black holes are dark matter. Basically, dark matter cannot be seen -- scientists can only
estimate where it is based on gravitational effects on what they can see.

We can't see dark matter, but we can detect it by its effects on normal matter through gravity
(rotation, gravitational-lensing) and by the X-rays emitted by hot, dark matter. So, what actually
is dark matter? What is it made of? Let's take a look.

First, dark matter could be ordinary matter, which is made of protons, neutrons and electrons. This
ordinary matter does not emit or absorb light, but it does exert gravitational effects. Some possibilities
include the following:
• Brown dwarfs -- These large objects formed in the same way as stars but never accumulated
enough gas and dust to reach the critical mass to start hydrogen fusion (see How Stars
Work, How the Sun Works). Brown dwarfs are about 5 percent of the sun's mass, i.e. usually
larger than a planet, but not as large as a star. Astronomers call these and similar objects
MACHOs, which stands for Massive Compact Halo Objects. MACHOs can be detected by
gravitational lensing. Astronomers think that brown dwarfs are not numerous enough to account
for dark matter in the galaxy.
• White Dwarfs -- These are the remnants of the cores of dead small to medium-size stars
(see How Stars Work). Although large numbers of white dwarfs exist, there are not enough to
account for dark matter (there should be large amounts of leftover helium from them, but this has
not been observed).
• Neutron stars/black holes -- These are the last remnants of the cores of large stars after
supernovae explosions (see How Stars Work, How Black Holes Work). While they do have large
gravitational effects and are invisible because they can even prevent light from escaping (black
holes), they are far too rare to account for dark matter.
Second, dark matter might be an entirely new type of matter, or extraordinary matter. Extraordinary
matter probably consists of subatomic particles that interact weakly with ordinary matter and have been
called WIMPs (for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles).
• Neutrinos -- Subatomic particles that move near the speed of light, but have little mass. These
particles probably make up little dark matter within galaxies because they move fast enough to
escape even a galaxy’s pull of gravity. However, they may constitute some dark matter between
galaxies. So, it is doubtful that they make up much dark matter.
• New subatomic particles -- There could be many of these proposed particles. Many come
from the theory of supersymmetry, which doubled the number of particles from the standard
model (see How Atom Smashers Work). They move relatively slowly and are relatively cold (i.e.
undetectable by infrared and X-ray telescopes). Particle physicists are actively trying to find
evidence for these theoretical particles to explain dark matter.
•
  Neutralinos (massive neutrinos) -- hypothetical particles that are similar to
neutrinos, but heavier and slower. Although they have not been discovered, they are a
leading candidate for extraordinary dark matter.
 Axions -- small, neutral, low-mass (less than a millionth of an electron) particles
 Photino -- similar to photons, but have a mass that is 10 to 100 times greater than
a proton. Photinos are uncharged and interact weakly with matter.

Scientists estimate that ordinary matter might make up to 20 percent of the dark matter in the universe

Dark Matter Detection

The problem of dark matter came about when astronomers began to study galaxies, like our own
Milky Way. If we look at the structure of the galaxy as it would appear from the outside, most of
the Milky Way's 100 billion-plus stars lie in the galactic disk. Most of the stars are concentrated
near the center of the disk around the nucleus and galactic bulge. Above and below the plane of
the disk are a few hundred scattered globular clusters and a large, dim, round region called the
halo.

NASA/Photo courtesy Ned Wright

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way

In studying the Milky Way, astronomers wanted to measure the masses and distributions of
masses within the galaxy and star clusters. But you can't just weigh something the size of a
galaxy -- you have to find its mass by other methods. One method is to measure the light
intensity, or luminosity. Luminosity is related to a star's mass (the more luminous, the more
mass -- see How Stars Work). From luminosity measurements, we know that there are about 15
billion solar luminosities (equivalent of sun-masses) between the sun's orbit and the center of the
Milky Way.

Doppler Effect
Much like the high-pitched sound from a fire-truck siren gets lower as the truck moves away, the movement of stars
affects the wavelengths of light that we receive from them. This phenomenon is called the Doppler Effect. We can
measure the Doppler Effect by measuring lines in a star's spectrum (see How Light Works and How Stars Work) and
comparing them to the spectrum of a standard lamp. The amount of the Doppler shift tells us how fast the star is
moving relative to us. In addition, the direction of the Doppler shift can tell us the direction of the star's movement. If
the spectrum of a star is shifted to the blue end, the star is moving toward us; if the spectrum is shifted to the red end,
the star is moving away from us.
Another approach to measuring galactic mass is by the rotation of the galactic disk. Imagine that
the galaxy is spinning, like a CD or merry-go-round, and that you are looking at it edge-on.
Within the galaxy, stars lie at different distances from the center. Some of these stars are moving
away from us, while others are moving toward us. We can measure the speed and direction at
which stars are moving by measuring the light that comes from them using the Doppler Effect.
We can then graph the velocity of stars at different distances from the galaxy's center to get a
galactic rotation curve.

The rotation curve tells us about the distribution of mass within the galaxy. If the galaxy is like
our solar system, where mass is concentrated in the center, the force of gravity will be greater
near the center (the force of gravity decreases with distance). Therefore, objects close to the
center orbit faster than those farther away, much like a spinning ice skater who rotates fastest
when her arms are tucked in, or closer to her center. So, we would expect stars close to the
galactic center to have higher rotational velocities than those farther out and that the galactic
rotation curve would decrease exponentially as a function of distance.

But as we'll see on the next page, astronomers discovered that things were not exactly as they
expected.

Mass-to-Light Discoveries
When astronomers measured the galactic rotation curve for the Milky Way, the rotational
velocity did not decrease exponentially with distance -- it actually increased, then settled to a
near-constant value. So they concluded that most of the galactic mass was located at the edges of
the galaxy (outside the sun's orbit of 28,000 light years from the center), or in the halo portion.
The outer regions and the halo portions of the galaxy emit very
little light. Therefore, whatever mass is in these regions (and
there's lots of it) is dark, hence the term "dark matter." In fact,
there is six times more dark matter than light matter in the Milky
Way.

This discovery of a high mass-to-light ratio for the Milky Way

was not altogether new. In 1933, astronomer Fritz Zwicky used
similar methods to measure luminous mass and rotational mass
in clusters of galaxies, (large swarms of galaxies that orbit each
other). He found mass-to-light ratios that were greater than 100.
Zwicky suggested that the differences between total mass and
NASA/WMAP Science Team
luminous mass were due to dark matter. His findings were not The composition of the universe
well received by most astronomers, but today the idea that dark
matter exists is generally accepted.

In the 1960s, astronomer Vera Rubin made a rotational curve for the Andromeda galaxy (M31)
and found a similar pattern to that observed in the Milky Way. She and her colleague, Kent Ford,
made rotational curves for several spiral galaxies and found curves similar to that of the Milky
Way. The implication of all of these results pointed to two possibilities:

1. Something was fundamentally wrong with our understanding of gravity and rotation. This was
not likely because Newton’s laws have withstood many tests for centuries -- they apply to most
situations except objects traveling near the speed of light or in extreme gravity, in which case
Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity apply (see How Special Relativity Works).

2. Galaxies and galactic clusters must contain far more dark matter than light matter.

Astronomers can detect dark matter by examining the X-rays it emits. In the next section, we’ll
find out how dark matter can also bend light.

X-rays and Light-bending

In addition to rotation curves, astronomers have used X-ray observations to confirm the large
masses of galaxies and galactic clusters. When heated to high temperatures (millions of degrees
Celsius), gases emit X-rays. The hotter the matter, the more X-rays emitted. So, when
astronomers looked at intra-cluster medium (the spaces between galactic clusters) with X-ray
telescopes, they found large gas clouds at tens to hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius. These
gas clouds were invisible to optical telescopes. When astronomers estimated the mass from
temperature measurements, they confirmed mass-to-light ratios of 100 or more, which provided
more evidence for dark matter.

NASA/CXC/E. O'Sullivan et al.

This X-ray telescope image shows that galaxy NGC455 is
surrounded by a cloud of gas that is 10 million degrees Celsius.
Dark Matter Gravitationally Bends Light

MOND: Modified Newtonian Dynamics

In the 1980s, physicist Mordecai Milgrom suggested that perhaps dark matter did not exist. He thought that Newton's
second law of motion (force = mass x acceleration, f = ma), a fundamental law of physics, should be re-examined in
the cases of galactic motions. This would be a major change to the way we understand the universe, because
Newton's second law forms the basis of many laws of physics.

Milgrom suggested a modification to Newton's second law called MOND, or Modified Newtonian Dynamics. This
modification involves adding a new mathematical constant into Newton's second law. MOND has met skepticism
from many astronomers and physicists because it was not introduced as a fundamental physics principle, but as a
solution to a specific problem.

Also, MOND cannot account for evidence of dark matter discovered by other techniques that do not involve
Newton's second law, such as X-ray astronomy and gravitational lenses. Furthermore, physicists recently tested
Newton's second law down to accelerations as low as 5x10-14 m/s2 and reported that f = ma holds true with no
necessary modifications (see American Institute of Physics News Update: "Newton's Second Law of Motion," April
11, 2007). The fate of MOND is still questionable and being explored.

In his general theory of relativity, Albert Einstein showed that massive objects can distort space-
time with their gravity. Let's look at this phenomenon with a massive galactic super-cluster. The
super-cluster distorts the space-time around it. Light rays emanating from a distant object behind
the super-cluster pass through the distorted space-time. As they do, the light rays bend and
converge upon the observer. Therefore, the super-cluster acts as a large gravitational lens, much
like an optical lens (see How Light Works).

The distorted image of the distant object can appear in three possible ways depending upon the
shape of the lens:

1. Sphere -- image appears as a ring of light known as an Einstein ring

2. Oblong or elliptical -- image gets split into four images and appears as a cross known as an
Einstein cross

3. Cluster -- image appears as a series of banana-shaped arc and arclets

By measuring the angle of bending, astronomers can calculate the mass of the gravitational lens
(the greater the bend, the more massive the lens). Using this method, astronomers have
confirmed that galactic clusters indeed have high masses, as indicated by rotation curves and X-
ray images. The high masses exceed the masses measured by luminous matter (i.e. high mass-to-
light ratio) and provide evidence of dark matter.

Dark Matter and the Fate of the Universe

When astronomers Margaret Geller and Emilio E. Falco plotted the positions of galaxies and
galactic clusters in the universe, it became clear that these objects were not randomly distributed.
Instead, they were clumped together in long filaments (walls) interspersed with empty spaces
(voids), thereby giving the universe a cobweblike structure. How did such a structure form?
What holds it together?

NASA/WMAP Science Team

According to this timeline, the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

The Big Bang theory of the formation of the universe states that the early universe underwent an
enormous expansion and that it is still expanding today. The only explanation for this type of
structure is that gravity is causing some of these galaxies to clump together into walls or
filaments. For gravity to clump these galaxies together, there must be large amounts of mass left
over from the Big Bang, particularly unseen mass (i.e. dark matter). In fact, supercomputer
simulations of the formation of the universe show that galaxies, galactic clusters and larger
structures can eventually form over time from aggregations of dark matter in the early universe.
So, dark matter may be an important "glue" that holds this universal structure together. A
question for future research is whether dark matter fills the entire universe, all the way to the
galactic walls.

Besides giving the universe structure, dark matter may play a role in its fate. The universe is
expanding, but will it expand forever? Gravity will ultimately determine the fate of the
expansion, and gravity is dependent upon the mass of the universe; specifically, there is a critical
density of mass in the universe of 10 g/cm (equivalent to a few hydrogen atoms in a phone
-29 3

booth) that determines what might happen.

• Closed universe -- If actual mass density is greater then critical mass density, the
universe will expand, slow, stop and collapse back on itself into a "Big Crunch."
• Critical or flat universe -- If actual mass density equals critical mass density, the
universe will continue to expand forever, but the rate of expansion will slow more and
more as time progresses. Everything in the universe will eventually become cold.
 • Coasting or open universe -- If actual mass density is less than critical mass density, the
universe will continue to expand with no change in its rate of expansion.

Measurements of mass density must include both light and dark matter. So, it is important to
know how much dark matter exists in the universe.

Recent observations of the motions of distant supernovae suggest that the universe's rate of
expansion is actually accelerating. This opens up a fourth possibility, an accelerating universe, in
which the all galaxies will move away from each other relatively rapidly and the universe will
become cold and dark (faster than in the open universe, but still on the order of tens of billions of
years). What causes this acceleration is unknown, but it has been called dark energy. Dark
energy is even more mysterious than dark matter; however, there must be lots of it to account for
the acceleration of the universe.