Dark Energy, Dark Energy "EMPOWER IAS"

In news:

• Last week, an international team of researchers has made the first direct detection of dark energy.

 

 

About the Project

• The XENON1T experiment is the world’s most sensitive dark matter experiment and was operated deep underground at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy.
• The finding also suggests that experiments like XENON1T, which are designed to detect dark matter, could also be used to detect dark energy.

 

Dark energy Vs Dark matter

• In the universe about 27% is dark matter and 68% is dark energy.
• While dark matter attracts and holds galaxies together, dark energy repels and causes the expansion of our universe.
• Dark energy has been noted as “the most profound mystery in all of science”.

 

 

How did they make the detection?

• Last year, the XENON1T experiment reported an unexpected signal.
• Scientists saw thatat energies around ~2 keV there are way more events than one expects simply due to noise and this could be due to dark energy.
• Though these sorts of excesses are often flukes, but once in a while they can also lead to fundamental discoveries.

 

Does it exist?

• Since the 1990s, dark energy has been the most accepted premise to account for the accelerated expansion.
• As of 2021, there are active areas of cosmology research aimed at understanding the fundamental nature of dark energy.

 

What if the signal was caused by some other force?

• Chameleon screening:The team constructed a physical model, which used a screening mechanism known as chameleon screening, to show that dark energy particles produced in the Sun’s strong magnetic fields could explain the signal seen in XENON1T.
• Fifth force:There are four fundamental forces in our universe, and speculative theories have proposed afifth force–something that can’t be explained by the four forces.
• To hide or screen this fifth force, many models for dark energy use special mechanisms.
• Other Projects:Scientists are hopeful that upcoming upgrades to theXENON1T experimentand similar experiments suchas LUX-Zeplin– a next generation dark matter experiment located at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, andPandaX-xT – another project at China JinpingUnderground Laboratory could help directly detect dark energy within the next decade.