1. California Institute of Technology MC105-24, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
3. Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, 13376 Marseille Cedex 12, France
4. Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrae, 85748 Garching, Germany
5. Institute for Astronomy, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
6. AIM, Unité Mixte de Recherche CEA, CNRS et Université de Paris VII, UMR no. 7158 CE Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
7. Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
8. Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
9. CEA/DSM/DAPNIA/SEDI, CE Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
10. Physics Department, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyou, Matuyama 790-8577, Japan
11. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

Correspondence to: Richard Massey¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to R.M. (Email: rjm@astro.caltech.edu).

Abstract

Ordinary baryonic particles (such as protons and neutrons) account for only one-sixth of the total matter in the Universe^{1, 2, 3}. The remainder is a mysterious 'dark matter' component, which does not interact via electromagnetism and thus neither emits nor reflects light. As dark matter cannot be seen directly using traditional observations, very little is currently known about its properties. It does interact via gravity, and is most effectively probed through gravitational lensing: the deflection of light from distant galaxies by the gravitational attraction of foreground mass concentrations^{4, 5}. This is a purely geometrical effect that is free of astrophysical assumptions and sensitive to all matter—whether baryonic or dark^{6, 7}. Here we show high-fidelity maps of the large-scale distribution of dark matter, resolved in both angle and depth. We find a loose network of filaments, growing over time, which intersect in massive structures at the locations of clusters of galaxies. Our results are consistent with predictions of gravitationally induced structure formation^{8, 9}, in which the initial, smooth distribution of dark matter collapses into filaments then into clusters, forming a gravitational scaffold into which gas can accumulate, and stars can be built¹⁰.

1. California Institute of Technology MC105-24, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
3. Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, 13376 Marseille Cedex 12, France
4. Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrae, 85748 Garching, Germany
5. Institute for Astronomy, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
6. AIM, Unité Mixte de Recherche CEA, CNRS et Université de Paris VII, UMR no. 7158 CE Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
7. Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
8. Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
9. CEA/DSM/DAPNIA/SEDI, CE Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
10. Physics Department, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyou, Matuyama 790-8577, Japan
11. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

Correspondence to: Richard Massey¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to R.M. (Email: rjm@astro.caltech.edu).

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