DARK MATTER: WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
KNOWING WHAT DARK MATTER IS DOING CAN PROVIDE CLUES TO WHAT DARK MATTER IS.
INTRODUCTION
This is my third paper building on my original hypothesis about Dark Matter. The first paper, Dark Matter: A Galactic Dyson Sphere (https://medium.com/@philofysks/dark-matter-a-galactic-dyson-sphere-3a88908c959e) proposes the hypothesis that the dark matter halo around galaxies protects the non-expanding space of galaxies from the expanding space of the universe all galaxies are embedded in. The second paper, Dark Matter: It’s Been Here Since the Beginning (https://medium.com/@philofysks/dark-matter-its-been-here-since-the-beginning-2788b4327021) builds on the first paper. Specifically, our universe has been expanding since the big bang but galactic space has been stable since the first galaxies started forming. The conclusion is that dark matter had to be around when the first stars and galaxies started to form. The paper goes deeper and covers how dark matter would help with the first clumping of matter and the formation of the first stars. Additionally, there is nothing about dark matter existing in the beginning of the universe that contradicts current cosmological theories.
This paper is going to follow up on other conclusions that can be made about how dark matter works within our universe.
DISCUSSION
The most basic fact associated with the ongoing work on dark matter is that the universe is expanding. Additionally, it is known that except for the Andromeda Galaxy, almost all of the other observed galaxies are moving away from our galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy. More precisely, for the most part the galaxies in our universe are moving away from each other as the universe expands. This shows us two basic things. The first is that every thing associated with galaxies, in particular all of the matter and the galactic space are completely contained within the dark matter halo. The second is that the dark matter halo appears to be set in place in the universe. In other words, the dark matter halo expands along with the universe and thus pulls the galaxies along with the universe expansion while maintaining the stability of galactic matter and space.
The second point is one that still needs some work and/or thought. The simplest case is that galactic dark matter halos are embedded in the space of the universe. That way the dark matter galactic halos expand with the universe bringing their embedded galaxies with them. However, the possibility exists that the dark matter halo could be just kind of “sticking” to the expanding universe space. Or maybe the dark matter halo is “floating on top” of the expanding space of the universe. This presents a situation where galactic halos and their embedded galaxies might not be expanding away from other galaxies at the same rate the universe is expanding.
This leads to the question, are galaxies moving away from each other at the same rate the universe is expanding? It seems that an answer to this question could provide more information on what dark matter may or may not be, and other effects it may have in our universe.
Another significant factor for consideration regarding how dark matter interacts with the expanding universe is gravity. Observations of our universe clearly show that it is a dynamic place with a lot of galactic motion. This motion includes collisions between galaxies. In other words, even though the space of the universe is expanding outward from every point, galaxies are still colliding. This is showing that gravity is still a major player in the universe. Specifically, gravity still has the power to pull galaxies toward one another against the expanding space of the universe.
Gravity pulling galaxies together into collisions is another piece of evidence that shows that not only does dark matter maintain the stability of galaxies, but it also shows that the dark matter halo is not fixed to a single location in the expanding space of the universe. When considering gravity associated with galaxies, the gravity from the galaxy’s dark matter halo must also be considered when looking at the motion of galaxies on a collision course. Similarly any dark matter veins or condensed areas of dark matter that are in the universe space outside of galaxies must also be considered. Specifically, they could be providing more gravitational pull in order to put galaxies on a collision course.
Dark matter areas that are sitting outside of galaxies in the space of the expanding universe relates to another area of possible study. Specifically, what is the motion of these dark matter areas within the expanding space of the universe, and with respect to the closest galaxies and/or galaxy clusters? Are these dark matter areas expanding with space of the universe, are they completely stationary, or are they moving toward a galaxy or galactic cluster?
As discussed above our universe is a dynamic place as galaxies, clusters of galaxies and even the space of our universe are all in motion. Ultimately there are conflicts in the motion and galaxies collide. As a result of some of these collisions a specific type of galaxy has been discovered, diffuse galaxies. Diffuse galaxies are low luminosity galaxies. That is the light from the galaxy is not very bright and they are hard to see and find. They are dwarf galaxies meaning they do not have a large number of stars like our Milky Way Galaxy. However, they can have the same overall size as our Milky Way Galaxy.
So, diffuse galaxies have a smaller number of stars compared to our Milky Way Galaxy. But, diffuse galaxies are the same size as our Milky Way Galaxy. This clearly shows us that the stars of a diffuse galaxy are spread out over greater distances than what is normally expected. An additional characteristic that has been discovered about diffuse galaxies, they do not have a dark matter halo. Having been stripped of a dark matter halo, the space of a diffuse galaxy is now exposed to the expanding space of the universe. This results in the space within the diffuse galaxy expanding like the space of the universe surrounding this galaxy. This in essence provides a direct accounting for the extended distances between stars in diffuse galaxies, and the role the dark matter halo plays in the stability of galactic space.
The lack of a dark matter halo along with the above average distance between stars in diffuse galaxies provides direct support to the original hypothesis discussed at the beginning of this paper. Specifically, the dark matter halo around galaxies is what keeps the galactic space stable so the galactic stars within the halo do not expand away from each other due to expansion of the universe space.
The lack of a dark matter halo around diffuse galaxies shows us something else; dark matter most likely interacts with other dark matter in some manner. A collision between galaxies results in stars and galactic gas being moved around within the colliding galaxies. In some of the collision cases one of the galaxies involved in the collision takes stars and other galactic matter from the other galaxy involved in the collision. In the case of diffuse galaxies, the theory is that the other galaxy involved in the collision not only stole stars and the galactic matter from the now diffuse galaxy, but also stole the dark matter halo. Or, it pushed the dark matter halo into the space of the universe. In either case there had to be an interaction between the dark matter halos of the colliding galaxies.
There is a secondary way of looking at the loss of the dark matter from one galaxy to the other galaxy involved in the collision, maybe the dark matter migrated from the one galaxy to the other galaxy. In the collision between the diffuse galaxy and the other galaxy, the other galaxy took all of the young stars, dust and other matter from the diffuse galaxy. In other words, the diffuse galaxy lost a lot of stars and galactic matter while the other galaxy involved in the collision gain a lot of stars and galactic matter. A significant gain in galactic matter by one of the galaxies involved in the collision could result in an imbalance between the matter in this galaxy and the dark matter halo. This imbalance could result in the dark matter of the galaxy that had its matter stolen moving over to the other galaxy in order to restore a normal matter and dark matter balance.
In either of the two events discussed above for the diffuse galaxy to lose its dark matter, the dark matter from the diffuse galaxy had to interact with the dark matter of the other galaxy involved in the collision that took the dark matter. It appears that the taking of the dark matter is necessary for the galaxy that gained all of the matter from the diffuse galaxy in order to maintain a stable galaxy both in matter and in galactic space.
NOTE: It must be noted that there are other possibilities for the dark matter to shift from one galaxy to another. For example, maybe there is some type of minimal gravity interaction between normal matter and dark matter that must be maintained. In a collision between galaxies the new hypothesis would be if there is a certain amount of mass exchange the dark matter must go with that mass in order to maintain galactic stability in the new larger galaxy. The only way to find out answers is through further research of our universe with the new equipment being developed and deployed here on earth and in space.
When it comes to dark matter it is currently theorized that it interacts with normal matter via gravity. The most likely situation is that dark matter and normal matter do interact in the normal gravitational manner. However, given that it is not known what dark matter really is, it is difficult to specifically say that the gravity interaction between dark matter and normal matter is the standard gravity interaction between normal matter/mass. Given the limited amount of information that is actually known about dark matter the possibility exists that there could be some exotic gravitational like interaction between dark matter and normal matter.
If it is accepted that there some kind of gravitational interaction between dark matter and normal matter, then there is an additional characteristics that can be determined, LaGrange points. The most basic definition of a LaGrange Point is that it is a point in space where overlapping opposite direction gravitation cancels out. In other words, the gravity from the earth pulls things toward the earth while the gravity from the moon pulls things toward the moon. There are points in space where the gravity from the earth overlaps the gravity from the moon and they are exactly opposite in the direction of pull and are exactly the same gravitational strength, so they cancel out giving a point of basically zero gravity in space.
If the dark matter halo around a galaxy has gravity that pulls on the normal matter within the halo, and the gravity from the normal matter pulls back on the dark matter halo, there will be overlapping normal matter and dark matter gravity fields. This overlap should cause some LaGrange points.
We need to be clear here, the overlapping normal matter and dark matter gravity fields are three-dimensional fields. So rather than there being a LaGrange point it will be more like a LaGrange sphere or football shape. And, the LaGrange Spheres or Footballs, should encircle a galaxy and could be interconnected forming a LaGrange Ring or halo around galaxies. For additional information about LaGrange points you can read my paper; Time Flies, Relativity Demands That it Does, https://medium.com/p/9e1de4c86284/edit
Something of note, the LaGrange space between normal galactic matter and the dark matter halo is a prediction, which is an important characteristic of any new hypothesis. The question becomes is it possible to test for it?
There is one other potential area for predictions regarding dark matter and that is; The gravitational interaction between dark matter and normal galactic matter is stable, unless there is an interaction with another galaxy.
AN ADDITIONAL HYPOTHESIS
In the note above a new hypothesis was covered. This new hypothesis is formalized and memorized here:
In collisions between galaxies, many instances result in a shift of matter/mass between the colliding galaxies. In the instances where one galaxy loses a large amount of mass to the other colliding galaxy there is also a shift in the dark matter halos of the colliding galaxies. That is, the galaxy that leaves the collision with more mass than when it entered the collision also needs more dark matter in its dark matter halo in order to maintain galactic space stability. Conversely, the galaxy in the collision that loses matter/mass no longer needs the same amount of dark matter in its halo in order to maintain its galactic stability, so it loses dark matter to the other colliding galaxy.
CONCLUSION
This paper only covers a few of the possible purposes associated with dark matter based on the hypothesis stated at the beginning of this paper. Without a doubt there are many other possible purposes that are waiting to be found. Similarly, there are most likely more predictions to be discovered and made. And, in all likelihood there are other hypothesis for dark matter waiting to be found. The thing that is currently missing, on going discussion about the initial hypothesis, and what has been covered in this paper.
