New theory from scientists: Dark matter may exist in the "mirror universe"

Dark matter, which neither emits nor reflects light, is thought to exert a gravitational pull strong enough to hold galaxies together. However, no direct detection has yet been successful.

In his work published in the journal Physical Review D, physicist Stefano Profumo from the University of California, Berkeley, highlights two possible origins of dark matter.

"IT COULD CONTAIN ALL THE DARK MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE"

According to the first scenario, dark matter could exist in a "mirror universe" where only dark versions of particles and forces exist. In this universe, dark quarks and gluons could form dark protons and neutrons, just like in our own universe. Sufficiently dense dark baryon clouds could collapse to form black hole-like structures, which could then contain all the dark matter in the universe.

Particles may still appear

The second possibility is that dark matter particles formed in the "cosmic horizon," the region where the universe was rapidly expanding, immediately after the Big Bang, and spread throughout the universe like radiation. The fact that the universe is still expanding means that these particles could still emerge today.

Profumo points out that while these ideas are speculative, they're not impossible. If a mirror universe dominated by dark physics really exists, perhaps a door to it could one day be found.