Dark matter remains elusive [S&T]
- The world’s most sensitive dark matter detector has failed to yield any trace of the elusive substance thought to account for more than four-fi fths of the mass of the universe, even after 20 months of operation
- The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter experiment, which operates beneath a mile of rock at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in U.S., has completed its silent search for the missing matter of the universe. It is extremely sensitive.
- That enables scientists to confi dently eliminate many potential models for dark matter particles, offering critical guidance for the next generation of dark matter experiments.
- Dark matter is thought to account for more than four-fi fths of the mass in the universe.
- Scientists are confi dent of its existence because the effects of its gravity can be seen in the rotation of galaxies and in the way light bends as it travels through the universe.