Concept information
Preferred term
Dark matter
Definition
- Matter that has no radiation and therefore cannot be detected directly, but whose presence can be inferred from dynamical phenomena produced by its gravitational influence. The existence of dark matter is deduced mainly from the rotational speeds of galaxies, velocities of galaxies in clusters, gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters, and the temperature distribution of hot gas in galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Dark matter plays also a central role in cosmic structure formation. There exists a large number of non-baryonic dark matter candidates. They include, the hypothetical stable particles WIMPs, neutralinos, axions, gravitinos, etc. Among unstable candidates are gravitinos with mild R-parity violation and sterile neutrinos. (en)
Broader concept
- High energy astrophysics (en)
- Intergalactic medium (en)
Narrower concepts
- Baryonic dark matter (en)
- Cold dark matter (en)
- Hot dark matter (en)
- Warm dark matter (en)
Editorial note
URI
http://astrothesaurus.org/uat/353
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