Scientific breakthrough: Astronomers understand what dark matter does to galaxies

Astronomers now believe that dark matter makes up about 85% of all matter in the Universe. The ordinary matter that makes up stars, planets, and other cosmic objects absorbs, reflects, and emits light, but dark matter does not. Therefore, this mysterious substance cannot be seen directly. But its existence can be inferred from the way dark matter’s gravity affects ordinary matter. The authors of a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy have been able to confirm for the first time through observations the influence of dark matter on the evolution of galaxies, writes Phys.

In Focus. Technologies emerged telegram channel. Subscribe to avoid missing the latest and most exciting news from the world of science!

Astronomers are now sure that all galaxies are composed of ordinary and dark matter. But the former are concentrated mainly in the central regions of galaxies, where most of the stars that form them are located. At the same time, dark matter is concentrated in massive structures such as halos surrounding galaxies.

Important

Typically, observational studies on the evolution of galaxies have focused on the role of ordinary matter in this process. This is despite the fact that such material represents only a small fraction of the total mass of galaxies.

Theories about the influence of dark matter on the development of galaxies have emerged for decades, but scientists have never been able to reach full agreement on the issue. Now, authors of a new study have confirmed for the first time that dark matter influences the evolution of galaxies.

To study the influence of dark matter on the fate of galaxies, astronomers focused on the difference between the mass value of all stars in a galaxy and the mass value that can be inferred from the galaxy’s rotation. is called the total dynamic mass.

Scientists have found that the age of stars, their chemical composition, morphology, and formation rate depend not only on the mass of the stars but also on the total mass; This means dark matter must be taken into account. corresponds to estimates of the mass of galaxies’ halos.

In galaxies with the same stellar mass, the same stars behave differently depending on how much dark matter (less or more) there is in the halo, the authors of the study say. In other words, the development process of galaxies from the moment they were created until today is subject to changes due to the dark matter halo. This is reflected in the characteristics of the stars in the galaxy.

In a future study, scientists want to examine stars at different distances from the center in the 260 galaxies examined in the current study. Astronomers want to find out whether this effect of dark matter on the properties of stars persists at different distances.

Scientists say that the next stage of the research will be to examine the connection between dark matter halos and the large-scale structure of the universe called the cosmic web. Scientists believe that halo mass changes the properties of galaxies, but this may be a result of the position each halo occupies in the cosmic web.

As I already wrote FocusScientists have proposed a new theory explaining the nature of dark matter.

Moreover Focus He wrote that scientists have uncovered whether ocean planets are habitable and what kind of water bodies they actually have.