Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy

A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 28677

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Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, Maillettes 51, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
Interests: stellar evolution; mass loss by stellar winds; rotation and mixing processes of nuclear elements in stars

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Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship, 127 Haddon Pl., Montclair, NJ 07043, USA; Institute for Advanced Physical Studies, Montevideo Street, Sofia 1618, Bulgaria
Interests: nuclear physics; theoretical physics; mathematical physics; relativistic particle
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dark matter and dark energy (DE) represent the two most challenging problems of contemporary physics and astrophysics.  DM and DE represents 95% of the matter-energy in the universe and they are not understood. Supporting evidence for DM has been obtained from astronomical observations of the rotation curve of galaxies, the growth of the density fluctuations in the universe, gravitational lenses, Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) fluctuations, etc.; DE evidence originates from the observed acceleration of the expansion of the universe. For 30 years, studies in particle physics developed in great labs, such as CERN, have not elucidated the natures of DM and DE. On the theoretical side, two main lines have been explored to find the origin of these dark components: the existence of unknown particles, and modifications to fundamental symmetry properties in gravitation theory and cosmology.

This Special Issue is devoted to the presentation of both new results on the observational constraints on DM and DE and to the presentation of new possible theoretical interpretations regarding the nature and origin of the dark components.

Prof. Dr. André Maeder
Dr. Vesselin G. Gueorguiev
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • dark matter
  • dark energy
  • cosmology
  • galaxies
  • CMB
  • universe
  • expansion
  • cosmological constant

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 341 KiB  
Article
Action Principle for Scale Invariance and Applications (Part I)
by Andre Maeder and Vesselin G. Gueorguiev
Symmetry 2023, 15(11), 1966; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym15111966 - 24 Oct 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1452
Abstract
On the basis of a general action principle, we revisit the scale invariant field equation using the cotensor relations by Dirac (1973). This action principle also leads to an expression for the scale factor λ, which corresponds to the one derived from [...] Read more.
On the basis of a general action principle, we revisit the scale invariant field equation using the cotensor relations by Dirac (1973). This action principle also leads to an expression for the scale factor λ, which corresponds to the one derived from the gauging condition, which assumes that a macroscopic empty space is scale-invariant, homogeneous, and isotropic. These results strengthen the basis of the scale-invariant vacuum (SIV) paradigm. From the field and geodesic equations, we derive, in current time units (years, seconds), the Newton-like equation, the equations of the two-body problem, and its secular variations. In a two-body system, orbits very slightly expand, while the orbital velocity keeps constant during expansion. Interestingly enough, Kepler’s third law is a remarkable scale-invariant property. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
12 pages, 3899 KiB  
Article
Twin Supersymmetric Dark Matter in Light of the First LZ Results
by Marcin Badziak, Giovanni Grilli di Cortona, Keisuke Harigaya and Michał Łukawski
Symmetry 2023, 15(2), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym15020386 - 1 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1206
Abstract
We review the status of dark matter (DM) candidates in supersymmetric Twin Higgs models in light of the first results of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment. We found that, for twin bino-dominated DM, the new results strengthened the lower bound on the higgsino mass. [...] Read more.
We review the status of dark matter (DM) candidates in supersymmetric Twin Higgs models in light of the first results of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment. We found that, for twin bino-dominated DM, the new results strengthened the lower bound on the higgsino mass. However, a large part of the parameter space consistent with natural electroweak symmetry breaking is still allowed. In the case of twin-stau DM, the new results imply that, if the thermal abundance of the twin-stau LSP fits the observed density of DM, the twin stau cannot have a large left-handed component anymore. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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18 pages, 589 KiB  
Article
Weak Deflection Angle, Hawking Radiation and Greybody Bound of Reissner–Nordström Black Hole Corrected by Bounce Parameter
by Wajiha Javed, Mehak Atique, Reggie C. Pantig and Ali Övgün
Symmetry 2023, 15(1), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym15010148 - 4 Jan 2023
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 1976
Abstract
In this study, we probe the weak lensing by a Reissner–Nordström black hole corrected by bounce parameter in plasma and dark matter mediums. For this, the optical geometry and the Gibbons–Werner approach are utilized to obtain the bending angle in the weak field [...] Read more.
In this study, we probe the weak lensing by a Reissner–Nordström black hole corrected by bounce parameter in plasma and dark matter mediums. For this, the optical geometry and the Gibbons–Werner approach are utilized to obtain the bending angle in the weak field limitations. We examine that the impact of these mediums increases the black hole’s bending angle. In addition, we graphically study the deflection angle of light with respect to the impact parameter and examine that the bounce parameter directly affects the angle. Further, we compute the Hawking radiation via a topological method involving two invariants and verify our obtained result with the standard method of calculating the Hawking temperature. In addition, we compute the greybody factor’s bound of the black hole. Moreover, we analyze the bound graphically and observe that the bound shows convergent behavior. We also study that our attained results reduce the results of the Reissner–Nordström and Schwarzschild black holes by reducing the parameters. Finally, we probe how the bounce parameter affected the shadow radius and compared it to the shadow produced if the black hole is immersed in plasma. It is revealed that the rate at which the shadow radius changes with respect to r easily tends to zero under the effect of the bounce parameter, while the plasma merely increases the shadow radius. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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14 pages, 426 KiB  
Article
On the Suppression of the Dark Matter-Nucleon Scattering Cross Section in the SE6SSM
by Roman Nevzorov
Symmetry 2022, 14(10), 2090; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14102090 - 8 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1320
Abstract
In the E6 inspired U(1)N extension of the minimal supersymmetric (SUSY) standard model (MSSM), a single discrete Z˜2H symmetry permits suppressing rapid proton decay and non-diagonal flavor transitions. If matter parity and [...] Read more.
In the E6 inspired U(1)N extension of the minimal supersymmetric (SUSY) standard model (MSSM), a single discrete Z˜2H symmetry permits suppressing rapid proton decay and non-diagonal flavor transitions. If matter parity and Z˜2H symmetry are preserved in this SUSY model (SE6SSM), it may involve two dark matter candidates. In this article, we study a new modification of the SE6SSM in which the cold dark matter is composed of gravitino and the lightest neutral exotic fermion. We argue that, in this case, the dark matter nucleon scattering cross-section can be considerably smaller than the present experimental limit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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15 pages, 2375 KiB  
Article
The Black Hole Universe, Part II
by Enrique Gaztanaga
Symmetry 2022, 14(10), 1984; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14101984 - 22 Sep 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2011
Abstract
In part I of this series, we showed that the observed Universe can be modeled as a local Black Hole of fixed mass M6×1022M, without Dark Energy: cosmic acceleration is caused by the Black Hole [...] Read more.
In part I of this series, we showed that the observed Universe can be modeled as a local Black Hole of fixed mass M6×1022M, without Dark Energy: cosmic acceleration is caused by the Black Hole event horizon rS = 2GM. Here, we propose that such Black Hole Universe (together with smaller primordial Black Holes) could form from the hierarchical free-fall collapse of regular matter. We argue that the singularity could be avoided with a Big Bounce explosion, which results from neutron degeneracy pressure (Pauli exclusion principle). This happens at GeV energies, like in core collapse supernova, well before the collapse reaches Planck energies (1019 GeV). If our Universe formed this way, there is no need for Cosmic Inflation or a singular start (the Big Bang). Nucleosynthesis and recombination follow a hot expansion, as in the standard model, but cosmological measurements (which are free parameters in the standard model) could in principle be predicted from first principles. Part or all of the Dark Matter could be made up of primordial compact objects (Black Holes and Neutron Stars), remnants of the collapse and bounce. This can provide a faster start for galaxy formation. We present a simple prediction to explain the observed value of M6×1022M or equivalently ΩΛ (the fraction of the critical energy density observed today in form of Dark Energy) and the coincidence problem ΩmΩΛ. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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22 pages, 1447 KiB  
Article
The Black Hole Universe, Part I
by Enrique Gaztanaga
Symmetry 2022, 14(9), 1849; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14091849 - 5 Sep 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5986
Abstract
The original Friedmann (1922) and Lemaitre (1927) cosmological model corresponds to a classical solution of General Relativity (GR), with the same uniform (FLRW) metric as the standard cosmology, but bounded to a sphere of radius R and empty space outside. We study the [...] Read more.
The original Friedmann (1922) and Lemaitre (1927) cosmological model corresponds to a classical solution of General Relativity (GR), with the same uniform (FLRW) metric as the standard cosmology, but bounded to a sphere of radius R and empty space outside. We study the junction conditions for R to show that a co-moving observer, like us, located anywhere inside R, measures the same background and has the same past light-cone as an observer in an infinite FLRW with the same density. We also estimate the mass M inside R and show that in the observed universe R<rS2 GM, which corresponds to a Black Hole Universe (BHU). We argue that this original Friedmann–Lemaitre model can explain the observed cosmic acceleration without the need of Dark Energy, because rS acts like a cosmological constant Λ=3/rS2. The same solution can describe the interior of a stellar or galactic BHs. In co-moving coordinates the BHU is expanding while in physical or proper coordinates it is asymptotically static. Such frame duality corresponds to a simple Lorentz transformation. The BHU therefore provides a physical BH solution with an asymptotically deSitter metric interior that merges into a Schwarzschild metric exterior without discontinuities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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17 pages, 707 KiB  
Article
An Analytical Approach to the Universal Wave Function and Its Gravitational Effect
by Yunuo Xiong and Hongwei Xiong
Symmetry 2021, 13(2), 193; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13020193 - 26 Jan 2021
Viewed by 2037
Abstract
Based on quantum origin of the universe, in this article we find that the universal wave function can be far richer than the superposition of many classical worlds studied by Everett. By analyzing the more general universal wave function and its unitary evolutions, [...] Read more.
Based on quantum origin of the universe, in this article we find that the universal wave function can be far richer than the superposition of many classical worlds studied by Everett. By analyzing the more general universal wave function and its unitary evolutions, we find that on small scale we can obtain Newton’s law of universal gravity, while on the scale of galaxies we naturally derive gravitational effects corresponding to dark matter, without modifying any physical principles or hypothesizing the existence of new elementary particles. We find that an auxiliary function having formal symmetry is very useful to predict the evolution of the classical information in the universal wave function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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24 pages, 854 KiB  
Article
Dark Matter as Variations in the Electromagnetic Zero-Point Field Induced by Baryonic Matter
by Yehonatan Knoll
Symmetry 2020, 12(9), 1534; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12091534 - 17 Sep 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4810
Abstract
Cold dark-matter, as a solution to the so-called dark-matter problem, suffers from a major internal conflict: In order to dodge direct detection for so long, it must have an unobservably small (non gravitational) interaction with mundane matter, and yet it manages to ‘conspire’ [...] Read more.
Cold dark-matter, as a solution to the so-called dark-matter problem, suffers from a major internal conflict: In order to dodge direct detection for so long, it must have an unobservably small (non gravitational) interaction with mundane matter, and yet it manages to ‘conspire’ with it such that, in single galaxies, its distribution can be inferred from that of mundane matter via the MOND phenomenology. This conflict is avoided if the missing, transparent component of the energy-momentum tensor is due to variations in some electromagnetic ‘zero point field’ (ZPF) which is sourced by mundane matter and contains both its advanced and retarded fields. The existence of a ZPF thus modulated by mundane matter, follows from a proper solution to the self-force problem of classical electrodynamics (CED), recently proposed by the author, which renders CED compatible with the statistical predictions of QM. The possibility that ‘dark matter’ is yet another, hitherto ignored facet of good-old classical electrodynamics, therefore seems no less plausible than it being a highly exotic and conspirative new form of matter. Tests for deciding between the two are proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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7 pages, 300 KiB  
Article
Prediction of the Neutrino Mass Scale Using Coma Galaxy Cluster Data
by Peter D. Morley
Symmetry 2020, 12(6), 1049; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12061049 - 23 Jun 2020
Viewed by 2294
Abstract
The near degeneracy of the neutrino masses—a mass symmetry—allows condensed neutrino objects that may be the Dark Matter everybody is looking for. If the KATRIN terrestrial experiment has a neutrino mass signal, it will contradict the analysis of the Planck Satellite Consortium reduction [...] Read more.
The near degeneracy of the neutrino masses—a mass symmetry—allows condensed neutrino objects that may be the Dark Matter everybody is looking for. If the KATRIN terrestrial experiment has a neutrino mass signal, it will contradict the analysis of the Planck Satellite Consortium reduction of their raw cosmological microwave data. Using Condensed Neutrino Objects as the Dark Matter along with Coma Galaxy Cluster data, we predict that KATRIN will indeed see a neutrino mass signal. If this physics drama unfolds, there will be profound implications for cosmology, which are discussed in this paper. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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Review

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16 pages, 300 KiB  
Review
Gravitational Waves, Event Horizons and Black Hole Observation: A New Frontier in Fundamental Physics
by Marco Giammarchi and Fulvio Ricci
Symmetry 2022, 14(11), 2276; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14112276 - 30 Oct 2022
Viewed by 2322
Abstract
The observation of supermassive black holes by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration and the detection of gravitational waves emitted during the merging phase of compact binary objects to stellar-mass black holes by the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA collaboration constitute major achievements of modern science. Gravitational wave [...] Read more.
The observation of supermassive black holes by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration and the detection of gravitational waves emitted during the merging phase of compact binary objects to stellar-mass black holes by the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA collaboration constitute major achievements of modern science. Gravitational wave signals emitted by stellar-mass black holes are being used to test general relativity in an unprecedented way in the regime of strong gravitational fields, as well as to address other physics questions such as the formation of heavy elements or the Hawking Area Theorem. These discoveries require further research in order to answer critical questions about the population density and the formation processes of binary systems. The detection of supermassive black holes considerably extends the range of scientific investigation by making it possible to probe the structure of spacetime around the horizon of the central mass of our galaxy as well as other galaxies. The huge amount of information collected by the VLBI worldwide network will be used to investigate general relativity in a further range of physical conditions. These investigations hold the potential to pave the way for the detection of quantum-mechanical effects such as a possible graviton mass. In this paper we will review, in a cursory way, some of the results of both the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA and the EHT collaborations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)

Other

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5 pages, 241 KiB  
Essay
The Λ and the CDM as Integration Constants
by Priidik Gallagher and Tomi Koivisto
Symmetry 2021, 13(11), 2076; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13112076 - 3 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1550
Abstract
Notoriously, the two main problems of the standard ΛCDM model of cosmology are the cosmological constant Λ and the cold dark matter, CDM. This essay shows that both the Λ and the CDM arise as integration constants in a careful derivation of [...] Read more.
Notoriously, the two main problems of the standard ΛCDM model of cosmology are the cosmological constant Λ and the cold dark matter, CDM. This essay shows that both the Λ and the CDM arise as integration constants in a careful derivation of Einstein’s equations from first principles in a Lorentz gauge theory. The dark sector of the universe might only reflect the geometry of a spontaneous symmetry breaking that is necessary for the existence of spacetime and an observer therein. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature and Origin of Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
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