A recent study from a scientist at Oxford University might have finally provided an answer to one of the most enduring mysteries around dark matter.
Jamie Farnes, an astrophysicist, proposed that dark matter and dark energy — two theoretical phenomena that scientists believe make up 95 percent of the universe — actually exist together. He calls it the "dark fluid of negative masses" and it makes up the majority of the entire universe.
The model was published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The Dark Fluid Flowing Across The Universe
"We now think that both dark matter and dark energy can be unified into a fluid which possesses a type of 'negative gravity,' repelling all other material around them," explained Farnes. "Although this matter is peculiar to us, it suggests that our cosmos is symmetrical in both positive and negative qualities."
Negative matter is a hypothetical form of matter that has a type of negative that, when pushed, would accelerate toward instead of away from an object. The idea is not exactly new, but it has previously been ruled out because of the argument that negative matter would spread out and, therefore, would become less dense as the universe expands. The negative gravity will become weaker over time.
However, the Hubble Space Telescope has seen that the expansion of the universe is not slowing down, but it continues to expand at an accelerating rate.
Farnes' theory puts forward what is called "creation tensor" in which negative masses are continuously created. As the universe expands, the negative mass fluid does not dilute because more and more are produced.
The dark fluid theory also predicts the behavior of dark matter halos — a theoretical component that protects a galaxy that spins rapidly from ripping itself apart. The paper recently published provide computer simulation that is accurate to observations made through modern radio telescopes.
Proving The Existence Of An Invisible Force
The astrophysicist warns that the negative mass cosmology idea could still be wrong. He adds that scientists are right to be suspicious of a theory that provides explanations to many enduring mysteries of the observable universe.
Farnes and his team hope that the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the largest telescope ever built, will help examine the existence of negative masses in the universe. He added that he plans to compare observations made using the telescope to theoretical predictions of negative mass cosmology.
