What Is Dark Matter? An Astrophysicist Explains | Edge Of Knowledge | Ars Technica

We see evidence for dark matter everywhere we look but proving hypotheses around it has been exceptionally difficult. Astrophysicist Paul Sutter explains everything about this mystery in a way almost anyone can understand - what we know about dark matter, what don’t, and how we’re trying to find out more.


Find more with Dr. Paul Sutter here:

Video courtesy of:
ESA and the Planck Collaboration

CC BY-SA IGO 3.0ESO/L. Calçada

Connect with Ars Technica:

[thomashearne]

Imagine a dark matter version of our world trying to figure out luminous matter lol

[PronteCo]

Even if I take nothing else from this video, the notion that *neutrinos are dark matter so we have proof some of it exists* is mind-blowing.
Mostly mind-blowing because it's the first time I've heard this, I still thought dark matter was only hypothesized, while I very well knew about neutrino-detecting labs.

[highcoldstar]

I'm grateful for y'all's contagious excitement. Personally, this vid is an important and beautiful reminder that we're all starstuff, figuring things out one mystery at a time. It made me proud of humans, and not many things have done that lately. I appreciate your time and knowledge! 🙏🌌

[pedrolima]

Maybe the real dark matter were the friends we made along the way

[lyledal]

Dr. Sutter! That guy is everywhere and and that is AWESOME!

[feenixhealthcare]

You did a wonderful job with the explanations. It was funny and informative, which is a hard line to walk.

[Fortunes.Fool.]

I would love being friends with a guy like him.

[dillanwhite]

This is a such a cool video, the intro makes this feel like it's an HBO special! The rest feels like a seminar haha but an interesting one

[MoRiley]

What a wonderful video, and Paul Sutter is always smart, fun, and entertaining,

[chinazomejingiri]

The fact that dark matter doesn’t interact with matter, just breaks my brain, and I love it 😂

[noahtipton]

Is it possible that dark matter doesn't consist of particles? Could gravitational effects be more akin to fields interacting in some unknown way?

[Keithful]

Wow! Amazing episode. Great overview of DM and the efforts to find it. Also, fantastic production qualities but one small comment - lose the overhead camera.
I heard from another presenter you probably know (Dr. Gay) that in addition to the lack of mass neutrinos are too hot to be a candidate for DM. Is there some theory that says massive neutrinos would be colder and a better candidate? One last question: Do you lecture at your university and are your lectures on-line?

[Amigps]

Cool video but the constant switching to weird camera angles is really disorienting and off putting. I'd recommend to limit that in the future.

[duanedaxalexander]

it’s almost like we’re fish trying to detect water

[or]

Combine:
1. Nxy = number of superpositions per m^2= wave function frequency
2. Cosmological constant in Dxy stretching spacetime [m^-2] = lp^2/λ^4= lp^2 Nxy ^2 [m^2] [m^-4]
3. Schrodinger solution
4. Einstein E= m c^2

Result: dark matter = superpositions (recoherence) of the neutrino (Axion?) which gives the neutrino extra mass

Dxy = lp^2/λ^4= lp^2 Nxy^2

Nxy = sqrt(Dxy / lp^2)= (Dxy / lp^2) ^0.5

Nxy = sqrt ( 1.1056 10^-52 / 2.612 10^ -70) = 0.65 10^9

Schrodinger solution:

Nxy^2 h^2 / ( 8 m L^2) = m c^2

8 m L^2 m c^2= Nxy^2 h^2

m ^2= Nxy^2 h^2 /( 8 L^2 c^2)

m = + - (Nxy^2 h^2 0.125 L^-2 c^-2)^0.5

m= (0.42 10^18 43.9 10^-68 8.99 10^-16)^0.5
= 166 10^-33 kg
= 0.931 Mev/c^2 ( all superpositions).


1 particle = 166 10^-33/ ( 0.65 10^9) = 255 10^-42 kg = 0.143 10^-3 eV/c^2 Axion?

dark matter = superpositions (recoherence) of the neutrino (Axion ?) which gives the neutrino extra mass

Recoherence foton = dark matter?

[dmprdctns]

Ha! Cash register sound when his book appears... Hilarious... Well done.

[nielsdaemen]

I've always wondered: what happens to dark matter when it hits a black hole? Since black holes are just extremely curved spacetime this should affect dark matter as well...

[zenmasters_games]

Bro wtf. First he says dark matter cannot interact with "our" matter. Then suddenly it can and we are supposedly hunting for it.

[garykong]

It reminds me during undergrad astronomy class, professor basically said we know a lot about the baryonic matter, only a little about dark matter and almost nothing about dark energy...

[riyashrivastava]

Seriously, it is hard for me to understand what they said in this video. But i am just fascinated by the name dark matter. Recently got interested in the science stuff. Got a google many of the things they have mentioned in the video.