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If you have a view of the southern celestial sky, on a clear night you might see two clear smudges of light set off a bit from the great arch of the Milky Way. They are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and they are the most visible of the dwarf galaxies. Dwarf galaxies are small galaxies that typically cluster around larger ones. The Milky Way, for example, has nearly two dozen dwarf galaxies. Because of their small size, they can be more significantly affected by dark matter.
In a recent study, a team looked at dwarf galaxies to see exactly what they would reveal about dark matter. Specifically, they were interested in how dark matter might interact with itself. One idea about dark matter particles is that when they collide with each other they could emit gamma-ray light. This would mean that the central regions of galaxies should show evidence of gamma radiation without a clear astrophysical source.
So once again a study of dark matter fails to discover the elusive particles. But as with earlier studies, this research narrows down what dark matter might be. Specifically, the study rules out certain mass ranges for dark matter more than ever before. It’s yet another small step toward solving the mystery of dark matter.
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