The quest for dark matter
A pilot to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technologies developed
To demonstrate the effectiveness of its new technologies, ODISSEE is working on the specification of a pilot combining the use of both the SKAO and the HL-LHC: the search for the nature of dark matter.
Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter that neither produces nor absorbs light, making it invisible to telescopes. Its existence is strongly suggested by a number of observations. For example, the rotation curves of spiral galaxies show that the outer stars rotate much faster than the gravity of visible matter could explain. This suggests the presence of some additional mass that is invisible to us. There is also more gravitational lensing than visible matter alone could explain, where light from distant objects is distorted by clusters of galaxies. Dark matter therefore interacts mainly through gravity and possibly through weak interactions.
To detect dark matter, we need to use both indirect and direct methods. Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) search for dark matter at the macro level, looking for signs of its production or interaction in collisions, for example by searching for missing energy or momentum in the decay products of B hadrons.
More directly, astronomical surveys using radio telescopes map the distribution of dark matter in the Universe, providing clues to its nature and distribution. The future powerful observational capabilities of the SKAO will reveal the abundance of dark matter in the early universe.
By combining these different methods, scientists hope to unravel the mystery of dark matter and better understand its role in the evolution and structure of the Universe. For example, scientists can compare the masses and couplings of dark matter particles inferred from the LHCb upgrade with the masses and densities of dark matter halos inferred from the SKA to test the consistency and validity of the models.
However, to maximise sensitivity and thus the probability of success, the raw data must be processed as close to the detector as possible, using technology that ensures system stability over very long runs and has the flexibility to handle a wide range of signal topologies. As a result, these scientific programs will require the ability to process unprecedented amounts of unstructured and time-varying data online.
The ODISSEE project will investigate how to specify the technical elements for carrying out combined research on the two instruments, LHCb and SKAO.
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