Cold dark matter (CDM) as a research area encompasses theoretical, computational, and observational studies of non-relativistic, weakly interacting matter that dominates the matter density of the Universe and seeds structure formation. Research focuses on modeling CDM’s impact on cosmic microwave background anisotropies, large-scale structure, galaxy and cluster halos, and substructure through N-body simulations and analytic frameworks such as linear perturbation theory and halo models. It also investigates constraints from gravitational lensing, galaxy dynamics, and cosmological surveys, and explores candidate particle properties via indirect astrophysical signatures and their consistency with precision cosmology and alternative dark matter scenarios.
When Rutgers theoretical astrophysicist Charles Keeton first saw an unusual picture shared by his colleague, he was intrigued.
Astronomy
Sep 16, 2025
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The mysterious substance called dark matter is intrinsically invisible. It cannot be directly observed—rather, its presence is inferred by its gravitational influence on the universe, such as binding galaxy clusters together ...
General Physics
Aug 20, 2025
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Physicists from the University of Copenhagen have begun using the gigantic magnetic fields of galaxy clusters to observe distant black holes in their search for an elusive particle that has stumped scientists for decades.
Astronomy
Aug 15, 2025
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Two recent studies by Professor Stefano Profumo at the University of California, Santa Cruz, propose theories that attempt to answer one of the most fundamental open questions in modern physics: What is the particle nature ...
General Physics
Aug 4, 2025
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Plenty of groups have been theorizing about primordial black holes (PBHs) recently. That is in part because of their candidacy as a potential source of dark matter. But, if they existed, they also had other roles to play ...
Astronomy
Jul 28, 2025
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For nearly a century, scientists around the world have been searching for dark matter—an invisible substance believed to make up about 80% of the universe's mass and needed to explain a variety of physical phenomena. Numerous ...
General Physics
Jul 14, 2025
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The search for dark matter requires all the best models, theories, and ideas we can throw at it. A new paper by Julia Monika Koulen, Stefano Profumo, and Nolan Smyth from the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) ...
Astronomy
Jul 7, 2025
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Celestial objects known as dark dwarfs may be hiding at the center of our galaxy and could offer key clues to uncover the nature of one of the most mysterious and fundamental phenomena in contemporary cosmology: dark matter.
Astronomy
Jul 7, 2025
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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope recently zeroed in on the Bullet Cluster—delivering highly detailed images that show a greater abundance of extremely faint and distant galaxies than ever before. Using Webb's crisp near-infrared ...
Astronomy
Jun 30, 2025
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While the Standard Model (SM) describes all known fundamental particles and many of the interactions between them, it fails to explain dark matter, dark energy and the apparent asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the ...
