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X Particle Might Explain Dark Matter & Antimatter
cold fjord writes "Wired Science has a story on a new theory that tries to explain dark matter, and the balance of regular matter with antimatter. This theory may even be testable. From the article: 'A new hypothetical particle could solve two cosmic mysteries at once: what dark matter is made of, and why there's enough matter for us to exist at all."
The paper is also available at the arXiv if you don't have a subscription to Phys. Rev. Lett.
Why, oh why can't people posting science stories on slashdot post links to the actual papers when they're publicly available? http://arxiv.org/abs/1008.2399
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CP violation has already been observed. This theory provides a mechanism whereby it can account for both dark matter and the matter-antimatter imbalance.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
And String theory doesn't count. It's about as scientific as Astrology.
A Slashdotter or hundreds of physicists... who's a fellow to believe?
String theory (variants thereof) conforms to observations as well as any other theory. What's lacking is an observation where the predictions diverge.
Until such time as such an observation becomes possible, if you want to knock string theory you should argue on the basis of Ockham's Razor, not on perceived parallels with astrology.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
"Dark matter" is not a theory. It is a label for a set of observed phenomena. Galaxies move as though they contained something that does not interact electromagnetically ("dark") but does interact gravitationally ("matter").
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.