In a recent study published in the Journal of High Energy Physics, two Brown University researchers showed how data from past missions to Jupiter could help scientists probe for dark matter, which makes up all of the universe. is one of the mysterious phenomena.
Past missions to Jupiter were chosen because of the vast amount of data collected about the largest planet in the Solar System, particularly from the orbits of Galileo and Juno.
The elusive nature and structure of dark matter continues to elude scientists, both figuratively and literally, because it emits no light. So why do scientists continue to study this mysterious and completely hidden phenomenon?
“Because it’s there and we don’t know what it is!” Dr. Lingfeng Li, a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University and lead author of the paper, exclaims.
“There is solid proof from a wide range of datasets that highlight dull matter: the inestimable microwave foundation, heavenly movements inside universes, gravitational lensing impacts, and so on. In short, it is something cold on large length scales.
behaves like non-interacting (hence dark) dust, while its nature and possible interactions on small length scales are still unknown. It must be completely new: something different from our baryonic matter.
In the study, the researchers discuss how electrons trapped within Jupiter’s massive magnetic field and radiation belt can be used to probe dark matter and the dark mediators that make up the dark field and our vision. exists between the worlds to come.
They derived three scenarios for trapped electrons within Jupiter’s radiation belt: fully trapped, semi-trapped, and untrapped electrons.
Their results show that measurements recorded by the Galileo and Juno missions show that the generated electrons are either fully or partially trapped in Jupiter’s innermost radiation belt, ultimately leading to energetic electron fluxes. I contribute.
One of the goals of this study was to provide an initial attempt to use data from previous, active, and future missions to Jupiter to test new physics that go beyond traditional models of particle physics.
While the data for this study was collected from the Galileo and Juno orbiting missions that have been going on for years to Jupiter, Li believes that this type of study could be done using data from long-duration missions to other planets, such as Saturn. can and its historic Cassini mission.
“First of all, Jupiter is heavier than Saturn,” Lee explains. “Its break speed is two times that of Saturn, and that implies that the pace of dull matter gradual addition on Jupiter is significantly expanded.
James Webb Space Telescope’s first image of the most Distant known Star
In addition, Jupiter has no main central ring, and the electron ring can be trapped for long periods of time before being absorbed by the material.
Other celestial bodies in the Solar System are much smaller (for example, Earth). The Sun is a very interesting target, but its magnetic field is extremely unusual. We don’t yet know how to interpret solar data, but it’s worth considering further.
While Lee said he has not decided what to do next in terms of future studies, the paper concludes with recommendations for future missions to Jupiter to expand the scope of particle physics while A more accurate measurement of the energetic electron flow discussed in this paper should also be provided.
