Cold Dark Matter of the Universe

Source: This post is based on the article “Relaxed assumptions can throw better light on Cold Dark Matter of the Universe” published in “PIB” on 12th January 2024.

Why in news?

Scientists have found a new approach to exploring cold dark matter (CDM), a hypothetical dark matter that constitutes 25 per cent of the current Universe.

What is Dark matter?

1) The universe is made up of at least two kinds of matter: Baryonic matter and Dark matter.

2)  Baryonic matter made of protons and neutrons, which can be measured.

3) Baryonic matter includes stars and galaxies and all the objects they contain.

What is Cold Dark Matter?

1) Dark matter can actually be slotted into three general groups: hot dark matter (HDM), warm dark matter (WDM), and cold dark matter (CDM).

2) Of the three, CDM has long been the leading candidate for what this missing mass in the universe is.

3) CDM is a kind of dark matter that, if it exists, moves slowly compared to the speed of light.

4) CDM is believed to have been existed since the universe began influencing the growth of galaxies and the formation of the first stars.

5) Scientists think it’s likely an exotic particle that hasn’t been detected yet.

6)The widely used Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMP) model proposes that cold dark matter comprises heavy particles with very weak interactions with normal matter.

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