OBSERVATIONA

L EVIDENCE
FOR DARK
MATTER IN THE
UNIVERSE
Made by-Akash k
Class-TYBSc
Aim-This literature review aims to provide an overview
of the current state of knowledge regarding dark matter,
from its initial theoretical proposal to recent
experimental and observational developments.

Objective-Identify the evidence for dark matter.

Discuss the leading theories of dark matter.
Highlight the future directions of dark matter research.
What is Dark Matter?
A standard model of cosmology is emerging (often dubbed the Concordance Model), in
which the universe consists of 4% ordinary baryonic matter, ∼ 23% dark matter, and ∼ 73%
dark energy.

Dark matter is a mysterious substance that makes up about 23% of the mass of the universe.
It is invisible to telescopes and does not interact with light or other forms of electromagnetic
radiation. However, its existence is inferred from its gravitational effects on visible matter.

The evidence that 95% of the mass of galaxies and clusters is made of some unknown
component of Dark matter (DM) comes from
(i) rotation curves of galaxy
(ii) gravitational lensing
(iii) The formation of large-scale structures(hot gas in clusters.)
The rotation curves
of galaxies
● The rotation curves of galaxies show
that the stars in the outer regions of
galaxies are moving much faster than
they should be, given the amount of
visible matter in the galaxy. This is
because the visible matter in a galaxy is
concentrated in the center, while the
dark matter is distributed more evenly
throughout the galaxy. The extra
gravity from the dark matter is what is
needed to keep the stars moving so
fast.
The gravitational
lensing of light
● Gravitational lensing is the bending of
light by the gravity of a massive object.
This effect can be used to measure the
amount of mass in a region of space.
Gravitational lensing has been
observed in many galaxies and clusters
of galaxies. The amount of lensing that
is observed is much greater than what
would be expected from the visible
matter in these objects, which again
suggests that there is a significant
amount of dark matter present.
The formation of
large-scale structures
● The large-scale structure of the
universe, such as the distribution of
galaxies and clusters of galaxies, can
only be explained if there is a
significant amount of dark matter
present. This is because dark matter COMA Cluster: without dark matter, the hot gas would
evaporate.
can clump together and form large
structures, while visible matter Left panel: optical image.
cannot. The X-ray image indicates the
presence of hot gas. The existence of Right panel: X-ray image from ROSAT satellite
this gas in the cluster can only be
explained by a large dark matter
component that provides gravity.
Plan of Action for this project for semester

• To study possible candidates of dark matter.

• Leading theories of dark matter
• different methods used to search for dark matter
•  future directions of dark matter research
• Dark stars
• Study of dark Energy