that other pesky 95% dark energy and dark matter

That other pesky 95%Dark Energy and Dark Matter

Prof. Lawrence WienckeDepartment of Physics EngineeringColorado School of MinesNov 9 2011

The Dark Side

95% of theUniverse Is Dark!

Energy budget of Universe

• Stars and galaxies are only ~0.5%• Neutrinos are <1%• Rest of ordinary matter (electrons and protons) are ~5%• Dark Matter ~25%• Dark Energy ~70%• Anti-Matter 0%

THE HIGGS!?#

No Dark MatterNo Dark Energy

M81Spitzer Space Telescope

105

100

50

Expected if the mass of the galaxy = the mass we can see

Observed

Some sort of invisible Mass must extend out ~10 times further than the stars!

Rot

atio

n sp

eed

Distance from the center

Vera Rubin 1980s

Full Court Press!!Produce at an acceleratorDetect them in our haloDetect annihilation products

Dark Matter annihilating in our halo should produce positrons,

neutrinos and gamma rays

Evidence for Dark Matter from LensingEinstein: Gravity bends light

Light travels along straight lines unless it passes a massive object.

Light coming from behind a massive object such as a star, a galaxy, a cluster of galaxies or a clump of dark matter will be bent the same way a glass lens works.

The more massive the object, the more gravity it has and the more the light is bent

giant arcs are galaxies behind the cluster, gravitationally lensed

Zoom in on a galaxy cluster – Gravity from the invisible matter is bending light and we can see the distorted images that result

Michael S Turner

Discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background, 1964

Michael S Turner

The Universe circa 380,000 yrsWMAP

±0.001% Fluctuations

fraction of a second laterHot Primordial Soup

380,000 years laterRadiation Last Scattered

13.78 thousand-million years laterToday

DARK MATTERfrom the

Primordial Soup

Most of the matter is dark

and

it’s not even “normal” stuff!

Tip of the Iceberg

STRING THEORY - 11 dimensions and more …..

Go to 11???

19

What is Dark Energy ?

“ ‘Most embarrassing observation in physics’ – that’s the only quick thing I can say about dark energy that’s also true.”

Edward Witten

Discovery! – 1998

Hi z Supernova TeamSupernova Cosmology Project

Brian P. SchmidtSaul Perlmutter

Adam G. Riess

Nobel Prize in Physics 2011

Inquiring into Dark Energy

22

NSTA - Baltimore 2006

A dying star becomes a white dwarf.

1. Create a White Dwarf

Inquiring into Dark Energy

23

NSTA - Baltimore 2006

The white dwarf strips gas from its stellar companion….

2. Dump more mass onto it

Inquiring into Dark Energy

24

NSTA - Baltimore 2006

….and uses it to become a hydrogen bomb. Bang!

3. Until it explodes

Inquiring into Dark Energy

25

NSTA - Baltimore 2006

The explosion is as bright as an entire galaxy of stars….…..and can be seen in galaxies across the universe.

4. Observe it in a distant galaxy

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is a telescope Fermilab helped build and operate.It has a 2.4m mirror and no DomeLocated in New Mexico• First started collecting images in 2000•120 MegaPixel digital camera

SDSShas measured ~ 1 million galaxies and over 500 type 1a Supernova and also found that the expansion of the universe is accelerating

SDSS-II Supernova Survey

~500 Well studied SNe Ia, suitable for framing

Our Universe’s Expansion is Accelerating!

time

expa

nsio

n open

closed

accelerating

Now

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. Those to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, are as good as dead: their eyes are closed.”

Albert Einstein

95% of theUniverse Is Dark!

What can we learn about it?

Will!!