Delayed Big Bang for dark matter could be detected in gravitational waves
30 Nov 2024
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Energy transition Dark matter may have been created after the Big Bang, something that could soon be tested by gravitational wave detectors. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/Tomertu)
New constraints on a theory that says dark matter was created just after the Big Bang – rather than at the Big Bang – have been determined by Richard Casey and Cosmin Ilie at Colgate University in the US. The duo calculated the full range of parameters in which a “Dark Big Bang” could fit into the observed history of the universe. They say that evidence of this delayed creation could be found in gravitational waves.
Dark matter is a hypothetical substance that is believed to play an important role in the structure and dynamics of the universe. It appears to account for about 27% of the mass–energy in the cosmos and is part of the Standard Model of cosmology. However, dark matter particles have never been observed directly.