Astronomers discover new link between dark matter and 'clumpiness' of the universe

Four current IAS scholars in the School of Natural Sciences—Mikhail M. Ivanov, NASA Einstein Fellow; Giovanni Cabass, Bezos Member; Kazuyuki Akitsu, Member; and Oliver Philcox, a visiting graduate student at IAS—have published a paper, along with their colleagues, in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics linking invisible dark matter and "the cosmic web" through the study of axions and their role in the formation of dark matter.

"The research suggests that the 'clumpiness problem,' which centres on the unexpectedly even distribution of matter on large scales throughout the cosmos, may be a sign that dark matter is composed of hypothetical, ultra-light particles called axions. The implications of proving the existence of hard-to-detect axions extend beyond understanding dark matter and could address fundamental questions about the nature of the universe itself."

Read more at University of Toronto A&S News.