Scientists used a levitating magnet to hunt for dark matter
The quantum-based technique could reveal the presence of hypothetical ultralight particles
A magnet levitates over a superconductor. Scientists used this phenomenon in a search for ultralight dark matter.
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In a first-of-its-kind test, scientists used a levitated magnet to search for dark matter, the unidentified substance believed to be present throughout the cosmos. If dark matter is made up of ultralight particles, it could behave like a wave that would subtly jostle the magnet.
Although no signs of such jostling appeared, a few tweaks could improve the experiment’s sensitivity to dark matter’s potential influence, the researchers report in a paper to be published in Physical Review Letters.
Scientists believe dark matter must exist to account for astronomical observations that suggest an unidentified source of mass in the cosmos.