China’s Dark Matter Particle Explorer Releases New Information to Help Search for Dark Matter
Scientists launched the first set of gamma photon data acquired by the Dark Matter Particle Explorer.
For the very first time, in May of 2021, China’s Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Collaboration directly observed a spectral softening of helium nuclei of around 34TeV. Now, we have even more excellent news from the satellite-based telescope.
China Daily reported that the first set of data from the space tool also referred to as Wukong or Ape King, was finally published. It will undoubtedly help in the search for enigmatic dark matter.
According to the National Space Science Data Center and the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the brand-new data was recorded for two years, from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018, and had 99,864 gamma photons. The two institutions likewise added that more data sets would be published in the future.
Gamma photons do not possess an electrical charge like protons and also electrons. This makes them less at risk of being affected by the magnetic field of various other celestial bodies and events. This consequently suggests that they might hold more precise information about dark matter and the origins of cosmic rays.
Since its launch in 2015, it is assumed that DAMPE has accumulated data on around 10.7 billion high-energy planetary rays.
The satellite-based telescope is taking a more detailed look at high-energy gamma rays and electrons to research dark matter’s elusive properties. It is likewise examining the possible origins of cosmic rays by observing high-energy electrons and heavy cores in the TeV energy range.
On December 17, 2015, DAMPE was launched and resulted from a collaboration amongst study institutions and universities in Italy, Switzerland, and China. The tool was specifically developed to look for the indirect decay signal of a hypothetical dark matter prospect called weakly interacting massive particles.
Originally published on Interestingengineering.com. Read the original article.
