Science & technology | Dancing in the dark

Physicists are reimagining dark matter

There might be new particles, forces and perhaps even a Dark Big Bang

This image reveals the intracluster light within the galaxy cluster SMACS-J0723.
Photograph: M. Montes & I. Trujillo

Readers of this paper will probably need no reminder that most of the universe is missing. The atoms and light you see—from people to planets, stars and galaxies—make up just 5% of the universe. The rest is a two-part mystery—a substance called “dark energy”, which pushes space apart, comprises 68% of the cosmos; what’s left, around 27%, is dark matter.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Dancing in the dark”

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