Start Date
27-4-2023 10:30 AM
Document Type
Poster
Description
Evidence has been accumulating for decades that there is not enough matter to explain the motions observed by astronomers for the rotations of spiral galaxies, the movement of galaxies within galaxy clusters, the movement of the Andromeda galaxy toward the Milky Way galaxy, or the large scale structure of the universe. Current estimates are that ~80% of the matter in the universe is invisible to us. Astronomers have developed a theory, ΛCDM, that most of the gravitating mass is composed of a “Dark Matter” that interacts only gravitationally with ordinary matter. Despite decades of research however the nature of this Dark Matter is still unknown, and recent results from the James Webb Space Telescope appear to be in conflict with the predictions of ΛCDM. An alternative view has developed that perhaps it is not that there is missing matter but that our understanding of gravity as developed by Newton and Einstein is in need of revision. The leading alternative theory of gravity is known as “MoND.” We present here a review of Dark Matter vs. MoND cosmology, finding that neither theory is adequate to completely explain astronomical and cosmological observations.
Image
Dark Matter vs. MoND: Is Most Matter in the Universe Invisible or Do the Laws of Gravity Need to be Modified?
Evidence has been accumulating for decades that there is not enough matter to explain the motions observed by astronomers for the rotations of spiral galaxies, the movement of galaxies within galaxy clusters, the movement of the Andromeda galaxy toward the Milky Way galaxy, or the large scale structure of the universe. Current estimates are that ~80% of the matter in the universe is invisible to us. Astronomers have developed a theory, ΛCDM, that most of the gravitating mass is composed of a “Dark Matter” that interacts only gravitationally with ordinary matter. Despite decades of research however the nature of this Dark Matter is still unknown, and recent results from the James Webb Space Telescope appear to be in conflict with the predictions of ΛCDM. An alternative view has developed that perhaps it is not that there is missing matter but that our understanding of gravity as developed by Newton and Einstein is in need of revision. The leading alternative theory of gravity is known as “MoND.” We present here a review of Dark Matter vs. MoND cosmology, finding that neither theory is adequate to completely explain astronomical and cosmological observations.
Comments
The faculty mentor for this project was J. Douglas Patterson, Astronomy.