
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can test theories about dark matter by searching for bright patches of galaxies in the early universe.
Dark matter is difficult to study directly. However, the discovery of bright patches of small galaxies in the early universe would confirm that the cold dark matter model is correct.
The JWST may have also spotted objects in the early universe that could be a new type of star, powered by dark matter. These “dark stars” are still hypothetical, and their identification in JWST images is uncertain.
Dark matter is thought to make up about 27% of the universe, which is roughly six times more than visible matter
Ultimately what this means is that since dark matter is impossible to “see”, those brightly shining patches of galaxies could be indirect evidence of its existence. And, they’d prove the role dark matter played in the creation of galaxies
Yes, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can test theories about dark matter by searching for bright galaxies in the early universe.
If models of cold dark matter are correct, the JWST can find patches of bright galaxies in the early universe. This could confirm that the model is on the right track.
The JWST can also help unravel the mysteries of dark matter in other ways:
- Dwarf galaxies If the JWST can find bright dwarf galaxies, it could bolster the theory that the relative velocities between dark and ordinary matter significantly impact galaxy formation.
- Dark stars The JWST might have spotted stars powered by dark matter. These “dark stars” are still hypothetical and their identification in JWST images is far from certain. The JWST was launched on December 25, 2021 and arrived at its destination in January 2022.
James Webb Space Telescope could target tiny bright galaxies to shine light on dark matter. “The discovery of patches of small, bright galaxies in the early universe would confirm that we are on the right track with the cold dark matter model
The JWST can see back in time because it uses infrared light, which is the only wavelength that can show the first stars and galaxies forming after the Big Bang.
Light travels at the speed of light, or one light-year every year. For example, when you look at the sun, you’re seeing light that left the sun eight minutes ago, not the sun itself. The expansion of the universe has stretched the wavelengths of the light from ancient galaxies beyond visible red to infrared, a process known as cosmological redshift.
The JWST’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam) can peer through dust to see beyond. The telescope’s mid-infrared camera (MIRI) can capture infrared light emitted from dust so that it can become the focus of an image instead of an obscuration
The JWST is an infrared astronomy telescope that can view objects that are too old, faint, or distant for the Hubble Space Telescope. If models of cold dark matter are correct, the JWST may be able to find patches of bright galaxies in the early universe. If it does, it could confirm that the cold dark matter model is on the right track.
The JWST has also found that young galaxies in the early universe grow too massive too soon after the Big Bang. However, simulations led by Caltech’s Guochao Sun and Faucher-Giguère suggest that the galaxies are luminous because they are seen during a time when they underwent a frenzy of star formation.
Here are some questions scientists hope to answer about the universe by using the Webb telescope:
- What was the first light in the universe like? The Webb telescope can help us understand what the universe’s first light looked like and when the first stars formed.
- How does the universe expand? The Webb telescope can help us understand how fast the universe is expanding. Other questions the Webb telescope can help answer include:
- How do the building blocks of planets assemble?
- What are the constituents of circumstellar disks that give rise to planetary systems?
- What is the origin of Earth and how life evolved?
- What conditions are necessary for life?
- Does life exist outside of the solar system?
- What happened in the early universe?
- What do black holes look like?
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has several advantages over other telescopes, including:
- Size: The JWST is the largest and most technically advanced telescope ever built.
- Sensitivity: The JWST has improved sensitivity and covers longer wavelengths of light than the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Field of view: The JWST can see a much larger portion of the infrared spectrum than the Hubble, and collects six times more light.
- Sensitivity: The JWST can detect objects up to 100 times fainter than the Hubble.
- View: The JWST is a space-based telescope, which means it doesn’t have to peer through the shifting air to see into deep space.
- Time: The JWST can see backwards in time to just after the Big Bang.
Webb is able to observe the planets at or beyond the orbit of Mars, satellites, comets, asteroids, and Kuiper belt objects. Many important molecules, ices, and minerals have strong characteristic signatures at the wavelengths Webb can observe. Webb can also monitor the weather of planets and their moons
According to ScienceDaily, the discovery of small, bright galaxies in the early universe would confirm the cold dark matter model. This is because the velocity between two types of matter can only produce the type of galaxy being sought.
Dark matter is invisible to the human eye, but it interacts with gravity and affects the formation and evolution of galaxies.
Scientists from the University of California ran a simulation of the cosmos and found patches of small, bright galaxies that could potentially confirm the cold dark matter model
The first evidence of dark matter was discovered in 1933 by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky. Zwicky used the Mount Wilson Observatory to measure the mass of a cluster of galaxies and found that it was too small to keep the galaxies from escaping the cluster’s gravitational pull.
In 1978, this result was confirmed. In 1980, an influential paper presented results from Rubin and Ford, which showed that most galaxies contain about six times as much dark matter as visible mass. By around 1980, the need for dark matter was widely recognized as a major unsolved problem in astronomy.
Gravitational lensing observations by galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and large-scale structure have provided important results that directly confirmed the existence of dark matter.
The evidence for dark matter comes from astronomical observations of large, distant objects. These observations show that dark matter’s gravitational force changes the size, shape, rotation speed, and relative motion of visible matter.
The motion of stars and other visible objects in galaxies is inconsistent with what would be expected if those galaxies were composed only of the visible matter. Additional dark matter is needed to explain the observed motion.
Dark matter makes up over 80% of all matter in the universe, but scientists have never seen it. We only assume it exists because, without it, the behavior of stars, planets and galaxies simply wouldn’t make sense.
In 2006, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes discovered direct evidence for the existence of dark matter. The discovery showed that dark matter and normal matter had been wrenched apart by the collision of two large clusters of galaxies.
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