darkmatterrelated

Darkmatterrelated is a broad term used in scientific and popular contexts to describe topics, data, and theories connected with dark matter. It encompasses observational evidence for dark matter, theoretical models of its nature, and experimental efforts to detect or constrain its properties. The concept arose to explain discrepancies in galaxy rotation curves, gravitational lensing, and fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background, which indicate a non-luminous, non-baryonic component making up about 27% of the universe's energy density.

Dark matter candidates include weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), axions, sterile neutrinos, and more exotic possibilities such as fuzzy dark matter or SIMPs. The nature of dark matter remains unknown, with researchers exploring parameter spaces for particle mass, interaction cross sections, and production mechanisms.

Detection approaches are categorized into direct detection (searches for scattering of dark matter particles off nuclei in ultra-sensitive detectors), indirect detection (searches for standard-model particles produced when dark matter annihilates or decays), and collider searches (production of dark matter particles in high-energy collisions inferred from missing energy). Large experiments and observatories around the world and in space—such as XENONnT, LZ, PandaX for direct detection; Fermi-LAT, AMS-02 for indirect detection; and the LHC for collider searches—have placed stringent limits but have not yet achieved a confirmed discovery.

The field remains active, with upcoming experiments and surveys aiming to probe smaller cross sections, lighter or heavier mass ranges, and alternative signals. Results from these efforts have deep implications for cosmology, particle physics, and our understanding of structure formation in the universe.