The scientific community may soon find an unconventional yet effective way to uncover the mysteries of dark matter, thanks to a groundbreaking study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. As federal funding cuts impact decades-long research efforts, scientists could turn to black holes for cheaper and natural alternatives to expensive facilities like Europe’s Large Hadron Collider.

One of the primary goals of particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider is to generate dark matter particles, but despite significant investment and construction, no conclusive evidence has been found yet. This is why there are discussions underway to build a next-generation supercollider, which would be even more powerful than its predecessors.

However, researchers have discovered that supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies can release enormous outbursts of plasma due to their intense gravitational fields and surrounding accretion disks. These events could potentially generate the same results as human-made supercolliders, according to a new study published in Physical Review Letters.

“This is like having nature provide a glimpse of the future,” said Dr. Joseph Silk, an astrophysics professor at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Oxford, UK. “The energy released by these black holes could be as powerful as the newest supercollider that we plan to build, so they could definitely give us complementary results.”

Researchers found that plunging gas flows near a black hole can draw energy from its spin, becoming much more violent than previously thought possible. These particles can chaotically collide and release high-energy beams, which could potentially generate dark matter candidates.

To detect such high-energy particles, scientists could use observatories already tracking supernovae, massive black hole eruptions, and other cosmic events. The difference between a supercollider and a black hole is that the latter are far away, but these particles will still reach us, said Dr. Silk.

The new study shows that harnessing the power of black holes could provide scientists with an unprecedented opportunity to uncover the secrets of dark matter, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of the universe.

The article “Revolutionizing Our Knowledge: The Rubin Observatory’s Groundbreaking Discoveries in the Solar System” reveals that millions of new solar system objects will be detected by the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, set to revolutionize our knowledge of the solar system’s small bodies – asteroids, comets, and other minor planets.

A team of astronomers from across the globe, led by Queen’s University Belfast, created Sorcha, an innovative new open-source software used to predict what discoveries are likely to be made. Sorcha is the first end-to-end simulator that ingests Rubin’s planned observing schedule, applying assumptions on how Rubin Observatory sees and detects astronomical sources in its images with the best model of what the solar system and its small body reservoirs look like today.

The team’s simulations show that Rubin will map:

* 127,000 near-Earth objects – asteroids and comets whose orbits cross or approach Earth. This will cut the risk of undetected asteroid impact of catastrophic proportions by at least two times.
* Over 5 million main-belt asteroids, up from about 1.4 million, with precise color and rotation data on roughly one in three asteroids within the survey’s first years.
* 109,000 Jupiter Trojans, bodies sharing Jupiter’s orbit at stable “Lagrange” points – more than seven times the number cataloged today.
* 37,000 trans-Neptunian objects, residents of the distant Kuiper Belt – nearly 10 times the current census.
* Approximately 1,500-2,000 Centaurs, bodies on short-lived giant planet-crossing orbits in the middle solar system.

The Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fill in the missing pieces of our solar system. With this data, we’ll be able to update the textbooks of solar system formation and vastly improve our ability to spot – and potentially deflect – the asteroids that could threaten Earth.

The Sorcha code is open-source and freely available with the simulated catalogs, animations at https://sorcha.space. By making these resources available, the Sorcha team has enabled researchers worldwide to refine their tools and be ready for the flood of LSST data that Rubin will generate, advancing the understanding of the small bodies that illuminate the solar system like never before.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided new clues about how the ultra-hot exoplanet WASP-121b was formed and where it might have originated in the disc of gas and dust around its star. The detection of multiple key molecules, including water vapour, carbon monoxide, silicon monoxide, and methane, has allowed a team of astronomers to compile an inventory of the carbon, oxygen, and silicon in the atmosphere of WASP-121b.

The ultra-hot giant planet orbits its host star at a distance only about twice the star’s diameter, completing one orbit in approximately 30.5 hours. The planet exhibits two distinct hemispheres: one that always faces the host star, with temperatures locally exceeding 3000 degrees Celsius, and an eternal nightside where temperatures drop to 1500 degrees.

The team led by astronomers Thomas Evans-Soma and Cyril Gapp was able to compile an inventory of the carbon, oxygen, and silicon in the atmosphere of WASP-121b. The detection of these molecules suggests that the planet’s atmosphere is rich in gases that are stable at high temperatures.

However, the team’s observations also revealed a surprise: the abundance of methane on the nightside of the exoplanet was much higher than expected. To explain this result, the team proposes that methane gas must be rapidly replenished on the nightside to maintain its high abundance. A plausible mechanism for doing this involves strong vertical currents lifting methane gas from lower atmospheric layers.

The JWST’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) was used to observe WASP-121b throughout its complete orbit around its host star. As the planet rotates on its axis, the heat radiation received from its surface varies, exposing different portions of its irradiated atmosphere to the telescope. This allowed the team to characterize the conditions and chemical composition of the planet’s dayside and nightside.

The astronomers also captured observations as the planet transited in front of its star. During this phase, some starlight filters through the planet’s atmospheric limb, leaving spectral fingerprints that reveal its chemical makeup. The emerging transmission spectrum confirmed the detections of silicon monoxide, carbon monoxide, and water that were made with the emission data.

The MPIA scientists involved in this study included Thomas M. Evans-Soma (also at the University of Newcastle, Australia), Cyril Gapp (also at Heidelberg University), Eva-Maria Ahrer, Duncan A. Christie, Djemma Ruseva (also at the University of St Andrews, UK), and Laura Kreidberg.

Other researchers included David K. Sing (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA), Joanna K. Barstow (The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK), Anjali A. A. Piette (University of Birmingham, UK and Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, USA), Jake Taylor (University of Oxford, UK), Joshua D. Lothringer (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, USA and Utah Valley University, Orem, USA), and Jayesh M. Goyal (National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Odisha, India).

The JWST’s role in the discovery was crucial, as it allowed the team to observe WASP-121b throughout its complete orbit around its host star, capturing a wealth of information about the exoplanet’s atmosphere and composition.

In conclusion, the study provides new insights into the formation and evolution of ultra-hot exoplanets like WASP-121b. The detection of methane on the nightside of the exoplanet challenges current dynamical models of exoplanetary atmospheres, suggesting that these models will need to be adapted to reproduce the strong vertical mixing observed in this study.