The Lab research team explored a recent publication by reputable physicists suggesting the possibility of a second big bang following the initial one.
Referred to as the 'dark big bang,' this event is hypothesized to be the origin of dark matter.
The standard Hot Big Bang model successfully explains the origins of visible matter in our universe. Despite this, the source of the elusive dark matter remains a mystery. An intriguing alternative called the "Dark Big Bang" has recently been proposed to account specifically for the genesis of dark matter.
Genesis of Dark Matter
In this new model, dark matter arises not from the Hot Big Bang that birthed familiar particles like protons and photons, but from a separate, later phase transition within a hidden "dark sector." The Dark Big Bang occurs when a hypothetical scalar field tunnels out of a high-energy metastable state into a lower-energy vacuum state.
A sudden decay releases energy that produces dark matter particles, analogous to the particle production in the Hot Big Bang.
Dark-zillas
Constraints suggest the Dark Big Bang happened early in cosmic history, recently after the Hot Big Bang. The dark matter particles born in this cataclysmic event range from relatively light "dark WIMPs" to extraordinarily massive "dark-zillas" up to 1012 GeV. Unlike conventional WIMPs, these particles only interact gravitationally, avoiding tight experimental constraints.
Emergence of Dark Matter
Intriguingly, self-interacting or warm dark matter can emerge naturally from a Dark Big Bang. This opens up prospects to uncover dark matter's origins through subtle effects on galactic structures.
The associated "dark radiation" from the phase transition contributes to the effective number of neutrino species, offering another probe of the Dark Big Bang through precision cosmology.
Implications and Future Prospects
Although many details remain open, the Dark Big Bang offers an elegant alternate origin story for the dark matter that dominates galaxies and the universe itself. If true, we may soon uncover dark matter's surprising dark origins writ large across the cosmos.
Significant gravitational radiation may be potentially detectable by current and future gravitational wave observatories such as the North American, European, and International Pulsar Timing Arrays, as well as the upcoming Square Kilometre Arra
Resources
The detailed paper is accessible through the provided link. Dark Big Bang 2302.11579.pdf (arxiv.org)
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