Could dark matter slowly change its weight? A new idea explains an odd sign in the sky
Physicists built a model where dark matter, the invisible stuff that outweighs stars, slowly changes its mass over billions of years. When tested against maps of the sky, this idea fit the real data a little better than today's standard picture of the universe.
Why it matters
About 95% of the universe is made of dark matter and dark energy, and nobody knows what either one really is. Recent sky surveys have shown a strange hint that the universe's growth does not quite match the simple model. This paper offers one honest, testable explanation: the two mysterious ingredients may be linked. It is only an early idea, though, and future measurements are needed before anyone can say it is right.
Who's behind it: Justin Khoury, Meng-Xiang Lin, and Mark Trodden, University of Pennsylvania, with a collaborator at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, with a fellowship from the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics.
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