While the idea of finding some kind of portal to the fifth dimension sounds truly insane, it could be more real than you’d expect. I know, it’s mind-blowing to think about but stay with me here.
In a more recent study scientists have come forth noting that they may be able to explain dark matter because of some kind of particle that basically links to the fifth dimension. For those who might not know according to Popular Mechanics dark matter makes up 75 percent of matter and yet it has ‘never been observed….yet.’ While just a theory this concept overall makes a lot of sense and is quite interesting for a number of reasons.
This study published in The European Physical Journal C’s abstract goes as follows:
We argue that extensions of the SM with a warped extra dimension, together with a new Z2 -odd scalar singlet, provide a natural explanation not only for the hierarchy problem but also for the nature of fermion bulk masses and the observed dark matter relic abundance. In particular, the Kaluza-Klein excitations of the new scalar particle, which is required to naturally obtain fermion bulk masses through Yukawa-like interactions, can be the leading portal to any fermion propagating into the bulk of the extra dimension and playing the role of dark matter. Moreover, such scalar excitations will necessarily mix with the Higgs boson, leading to modifications of the Higgs couplings and branching ratios, and allowing the Higgs to mediate the coannihilation of the fermionic dark matter. We study these effects and explore the viability of fermionic dark matter in the presence of these new heavy scalar mediators both in the usual freeze-out scenario and in the case where the freeze-out happens during an early period of matter domination.
This study was published under the title “A warped scalar portal to fermionic dark matter” and it’s quite intriguing. While it brings forth more questions and offers some answers it does explain a lot and if played out as expected really brings a lot to the table. This study is seemingly a quest of sorts to explain the presence of dark matter and uses a WED model. While more research will have to be done, this could be a step in the right direction.
Yahoo!Finance posted as follows on this topic:
Could dimension-traveling fermions explain at least some of the dark matter scientists have so far not been able to observe? “We know that there is no viable [dark matter] candidate in the [standard model of physics],” the scientists say, “so already this fact asks for the presence of new physics.”
Basically, a key piece of mathematics creates bulk masses of fermions that are manifested in the so-called fifth dimensional warped space. This pocket “dark sector” is one possible way to explain the huge amount of dark matter that, so far, has eluded detection using any traditional measurements designed for the standard model of physics. Fermions jammed through a portal to a warped fifth dimension could be “acting as” dark matter.
How would we observe this kind of dark matter in order to verify it? To date, this is the holdup on many different theories of dark matter. But all it would take to identify fermionic dark matter in a warped fifth dimension would be the right kind of gravitational wave detector, something growing in prevalence around the world. Indeed, the answer to the dark matter conundrum could be just around the corner.
What do you think about all of this? I for one cannot wait to see where research like this takes us in the future. Who knows what we will be able to uncover as time passes?