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Dark energy and dark matter refers to the unseen energy and matter components of the Universe. Dark matter is invisible, non-baryonic matter hypothesized to explain phenomena including gravitational lensing and galactic rotation curves. Dark energy is thought to permeate the Universe and, despite its low energy-density, is thought to be responsible for the accelerating expansion of the Universe.
Spatial and kinematic analysis of the solar neighbourhood shows that the Radcliffe Wave, a wave-shaped chain of star-forming gas clouds, is oscillating through the Galactic plane while also drifting radially away from the Galactic Centre.
Continuous gravitational waves represent an exciting new frontier for multi-messenger astrophysics. This overview discusses their origins and the results obtained in the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA O3 observing run, highlighting their potential for future studies.
Axions are hypothetical particles that constitute leading candidates for the identity of dark matter. Here, the authors improve previous exclusion bounds on axion-like particles in the range of 1.4–200 peV, and report direct terrestrial limits on the coupling of protons and neutrons with axion-like dark matter.
The 21-cm absorption lines from atomic hydrogen, known as the 21-cm forest, are here proposed to probe simultaneously dark matter particle mass and cosmic heating history. With upcoming observational facilities, the statistical features of the 21-cm forest will constrain the nature of dark matter and the first galaxies at cosmic dawn.
Volker Springel created the original GADGET code more than 25 years ago. Now it supports some of the largest simulations in astrophysics, and is being developed to do vastly more.
The SuperBIT telescope spent more than a month being carried through the stratosphere by a scientific balloon, imaging space from above 99.5% of the Earth’s atmosphere.
It’s been an eventful year for robotic missions. From probes of Solar System bodies to large-scale cosmic structures, advances in our understanding of the formation and evolution of the Universe gather speed.
The 21-cm absorption lines from neutral hydrogen at cosmic dawn are proposed as a probe to simultaneously study dark matter particle mass and cosmic heating history. By applying a statistical approach to simulated data this probe is shown to distinguish the effects of dark matter from those of cosmic heating.