2023-09-08 04:00:12
Atomic clocks are not only used to measure time with extreme precision. They are also used to explore some of the greatest mysteries of the Universe, including the nature of dark matter.
Atomic clocks at the NPL (left) and the Balle cluster, a collision between two galaxies (Galaxies is a quarterly French journal devoted to science fiction. With…) indicating the presence of dark matter (In astrophysics, dark matter (or dark matter), translation from English…) (right).
Credits: X-rays – NASA/CXC/M.Markevitch et al.; Optics – NASA/STScI; Magellan/U.Arizona/D.Clowe et al.; Lens Map – NASA/STScI; ESO WFI; Magellan/U.Arizona/D.Clowe et al/NPL/University of Sussex
A collaboration between the University of Sussex and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the United Kingdom is using atomic clocks to track hypothetical ultralight particles. These particles might be a component of black matter, a substance estimated to make up approximately 85% of the total matter in the Universe (The Universe is the set of everything that exists and the laws that govern it.), but which remains largely invisible. Unlike ordinary matter particles, these ultralight particles would interact very weakly with known matter and forces, making them difficult to detect.
Atomic clocks operate according to well-established principles. Any change in their rhythm might signal variations in atomic energy levels, and by extension, anomalies in known physical laws. These variations would be so tiny that they can only be detected with extremely precise instruments, such as atomic clocks.
Xavier Calmet, professor of physics at the University of Sussex, is leading this ambitious project. According to him, deviations from known laws of physics might indicate the presence of “new physics”, thus opening new perspectives for understanding the Universe. According to him, this method might also be used to study dark energy, another cosmological enigma. This mysterious force is responsible for the accelerated expansion of the Universe.
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