Which instruments are used to determine the composition of dark matter?

[Wentu]

TL;DR Summary

I would like to know what scientists use to try to determine the constituents of dark matter.

Hello,

I have a general understanding of how we are aware of the presence of dark matter in the universe and the fact that we still don't know exactly what is that dark matter is made of.

I would like to know which instruments are used to try and find an answer. For instance, from what I understand, telescopes (working in different wavelengths) can determine that there is the need of a certain amount of dark matter to explain certain observations regarding, for instance, galaxies.
What I am interested in, is know if we can use telescopes also to know WHAT dark matter is made of. Could telescopes tell us if the dark matter they observe is made up of WIMPS or Axions or Sterile Neutrinos or else?

What, on the other hand, is the range of instruments that we use on Earth to help us answer this question? Accelerators? Large detectors? Some kind of particularly powerful computer to examine the data? What else?

Thanks a lot!

Johannes Wentu

 

[phinds]

Summary:: I would like to know what scientists use to try to determine the constituents of dark matter.

Hello,
I have a general understanding of how we are aware of the presence of dark matter in the universe and the fact that we still don't know exactly what is that dark matter is made of.
I would like to know which instruments are used to try and find an answer. For instance, from what I understand, telescopes (working in different wavelengths) can determine that there is the need of a certain amount of dark matter to explain certain observations regarding, for instance, galaxies.
What I am interested in, is know if we can use telescopes also to know WHAT dark matter is made of. Could telescopes tell us if the dark matter they observe is made up of WIMPS or Axions or Sterile Neutrinos or else?
What, on the other hand, is the range of instruments that we use on Earth to help us answer this question? Accelerators? Large detectors? Some kind of particularly powerful computer to examine the data? What else?

Thanks a lot!

Johannes Wentu

Have you done even the most simple attempt to find out?

Remember, Google is your friend. For example

https://www.universetoday.com/14210...s-the-rarest-event-ever-seen-in-the-universe/

 

[Wentu]

Now now...

Say this is MedicineForums and I am not a medical doctor. I come here for some advice on some pain I am feeling and what do I get? "Go see on Google!". How helpful! Thank you so much, I didn't know about this "Google".

Come on! Yes, of course I did my personal research but if I feel urged to come to THIS forum is just BECAUSE what I found with my OWN forces is NOT ENOUGH.

Now, a helpful and enthusiastic person, I think, would honestly and genuinely try to help me with some real answers. Telling me "Go find yourself" is useless and lazy.

For example: I usually spend my time with board games and I spend a lot of time in boardgame forums. If someone, clearly a newbie, comes to the forum and asks "what's the best board game for a night with friends?" I can react in two ways: if I have no time to answer, I know someone else will, therefore I refrain to even reply.

On the other hand, being a board game enthusiast, if I do have time to reply I answer to the guy with some general hints and a short list of links that I deem helpful to a newcomer. "Have you tried with Google?" is not helpful: it can be PART of your answer, a gentle reminder as a closing remark if you really feel the person really didn't do the slightest effort.

Back to what I am interested in: FROM WHAT I ALREADY FOUND ON MY OWN, I can not understand if, only by using Telescopes, it is possible to know, besides the amount of DM needed to explain some observations, also which of the possible candidates is the most likely. Is it possible, with telescopes, to say something like "from the way this galaxy is rotating, the Dark Matter needed to explain the rotation cannot be due to DM candidate A but only to candidate B or C"? I honestly thought my question was clear from the beginning and no, from what I found so far, I couldn't find an answer. I was hoping to get some help here.

The other aspect of my question is: if a detector on Earth is built to find the existence of ONE candidate (say WIMPs, in the article you provided), is it possible from its results (or lack of) to get info on the existence and relative abundance of OTHER candidates?

I am asking here because I feel you know better where to look and you can point me in the right direction.

Thank you
Wentu

 

[berkeman]

Say this is MedicineForums and I am not a medical doctor. I come here for some advice on some pain I am feeling and what do I get?

You would get the same response there as you would get here in our Medical forums -- please talk to your doctor.

Come on! Yes, of course I did my personal research but if I feel urged to come to THIS forum is just BECAUSE what I found with my OWN forces is NOT ENOUGH.

You did not post any links to that research/reading. How are we supposed to know that you did it, and if you looked in the right places?

Now, a helpful and enthusiastic person, I think, would honestly and genuinely try to help me with some real answers. Telling me "Go find yourself" is useless and lazy.

See above please.

Back to what I am interested in: FROM WHAT I ALREADY FOUND ON MY OWN, I can not understand if, only by using Telescopes, it is possible to know, besides the amount of DM needed to explain some observations, also which of the possible candidates is the most likely. Is it possible, with telescopes, to say something like "from the way this galaxy is rotating, the Dark Matter needed to explain the rotation cannot be due to DM candidate A but only to candidate B or C"? I honestly thought my question was clear from the beginning and no, from what I found so far, I couldn't find an answer. I was hoping to get some help here.

The other aspect of my question is: if a detector on Earth is built to find the existence of ONE candidate (say WIMPs, in the article you provided), is it possible from its results (or lack of) to get info on the existence and relative abundance of OTHER candidates?

That sounds like a good thing to start your re-post with. Please be sure to include links to your reading about this, and ask specific questions about your reading. That will help us a lot to know your level of understanding so far, which will help us to give you the best answers and links to more reading that you can do.

I honestly thought my question was clear from the beginning and no, from what I found so far, I couldn't find an answer. I was hoping to get some help here.

You will get fine help here. You probably are seeing that we do require good effort shown first by the OPs.

This thread is locked. Please start a new thread with the improved questions, and you will get great help. Thank you.