Also, could the self-interacting dark matter theory actually suggest an alternative universe of dark atoms?
In: Planetary Science
“Dark matter” is a term used to describe the problem in modern physics that there seems to be too much gravity in some places.
There are a bunch of proposed solutions to this “dark matter” problem, most of which involve some new hypothetical type of “matter” (i.e. stuff with mass, so which causes gravity) that is “dark” (i.e. does not interact with light – light goes straight through it and ignores it completely) – hence the name.
There are [a whole bunch of different ideas for what this stuff might look like](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter#Composition), and there is a lot of both theoretical and experimental research in this area, none of which has got anywhere so far (which is pretty exciting).
Self-interacting dark matter is a particular set of hypothetical dark matter, where the dark matter particles can interact with themselves via the strong interaction (one of the four fundamental interactions in modern physics). Of the four interactions we know dark matter – if it exists – must interact via gravity (that’s the whole point), doesn’t interact via electro-magnetism (we cannot see it), and probably doesn’t interact with most things via the strong interaction (otherwise it would hit things).
SIDM adds a qualifier to that last part, proposing particles that do interact via the strong interaction, but only with each other. That way they can push and pull on each other, transferring energy and momentum. This explains some of the problems with standard, non-self-interacting dark matter models (where the theories don’t match the observations).
As far as I know it doesn’t have anything to do with alternate universes (although there are some “dark matter” theories that do), and the concept of “dark atoms” doesn’t really make sense.
But again it is worth emphasising that *all* of this is theoretical; it is people trying to come up with mathematical models that explain observations, and tweaking those models to make them fit. There is no direct evidence of any specific kind of dark matter.
Wow, I never even knew there was such a thing as self-interacting dark matter theory! It’s fascinating to think that it could potentially lead to the discovery of a whole new universe made up of dark atoms. Can’t wait to learn more about this!
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