Half of the Universe’s ordinary matter may have been found

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the recent claims regarding the discovery of a significant portion of the universe's ordinary matter, which was previously thought to be missing. Participants explore the implications of this finding, particularly in relation to dark matter and baryogenesis models.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight that the discovery of "missing matter" does not negate the existence of dark matter, suggesting that the challenge lies in identifying all ordinary matter as predicted by baryogenesis models.
  • One participant expresses confusion about the concept of missing ordinary matter if dark matter can explain observations, questioning the rationale behind the term "missing."
  • Another participant refines the discussion by suggesting that the focus should be on models regarding the expected number of baryons rather than strictly on baryogenesis, which remains a complex topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus, as there are competing views on the implications of the findings and the definitions of missing matter versus dark matter.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the definitions of ordinary and dark matter, as well as the assumptions underlying baryogenesis models, which are not fully resolved.

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TL;DR
The long-sought matter appears to have been hiding in the gaps between galaxies
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Note that finding this "missing matter" does not mean there is no dark matter. It just means astronomers were having difficulty finding all the ordinary (non-dark) matter that should be there according to models of baryogenesis in the early universe.
 
PeterDonis said:
Note that finding this "missing matter" does not mean there is no dark matter. It just means astronomers were having difficulty finding all the ordinary (non-dark) matter that should be there according to models of baryogenesis in the early universe.
Thanks for clarification, since the paper didn't make sense to me. If we explain all observations by the dark sector, what makes ordinary matter missing? How can something be missing, if we explain the missing otherwise. Made no sense, before you mentioned "models for baryogenesis".
 
I would say "models for how many baryons there should be" more generally, and not truly models for baryogenesis per se, which is still quite murky.
 

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