Revealed: Most accurate measurement of dark matter structure in the universe

Scientists have made the most accurate measurement ever of the dark matter in the present- day universe, providing support to the theory that the elusive particle makes up majority of the cosmos. The measurements of the amount and “clumpiness” (or distribution) of dark matter were made with a precision that, for the first time, rivals that of inferences from the early universe by the European Space Agency’s orbiting Planck observatory.

The new results from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration is close to “forecasts” made from the Planck measurements of the distant past, allowing scientists to understand more about the ways the universe has evolved over 14 billion years. “For the first time, we are able to see the current structure of the universe with the same clarity that we can see its infancy, and we can follow the threads from one to the other, confirming many predictions along the way,” said Scott Dodelson from US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Most notably, the result supports the theory that 26 per cent of the universe is in the form of mysterious dark matter and that space is filled with an also-unseen dark energy, which is causing the accelerating expansion …read more