Does Dark Matter Really Exist?

Is there really such a thing as dark matter, or do we have some gaps in our understanding of gravity?

As we take in more and more information about the universe on greater and larger scales, we come to an unexpected conclusion: the universe must be substantially more massive than it appears in order to explain various astronomical observable facts using theories that are now considered to be correct. The assumptions that are now being advanced as potential solutions to this challenge can be split into two types.

First, there are weaknesses in theories that are widely considered to be right; it may be possible to explain observational evidence by altering gravitational principles or by developing entirely new gravitational theories, depending on the situation. Secondly, the universe contains a sort of dark matter that is invisible to the naked eye because it does not interact with light and whose nature is still unknown.

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Is there really such a thing as dark matter, or do we have some gaps in our understanding of gravity? The data from approximately 260,000 galaxies was utilized by Margot M. Brouwer of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and her colleagues to analyze two distinct gravity theories as well as two different dark matter models in order to obtain a sense of the situation.

Known as MOND for short, the modified Newtonian theory of dynamics asserts that the law of gravitational force being inversely proportional to the square of the distance is not true at all scales, and it is one of the alternative theories of gravity that has been researched. Similarly to the first, Erik Verlinde's entropic theory of gravity holds that gravitation, rather than being a fundamental force, is the outcome of growing entropy over time as a result of the second law of thermodynamics in systems with a large number of particles.

Those who believe dark matter exists can argue that these observations provide evidence to support that view. The researchers, on the other hand, claim that reaching definitive findings is still difficult. Many galaxies, for example, are thought to be surrounded by low-density gas clouds, according to popular belief. Although it is incredibly difficult to observe and measure the masses of these gas clouds, researchers have made significant progress.

If different types of galaxies are surrounded by gas clouds at different rates, there is still a chance that alternative gravity theories such as MOND and entropic gravity will be correct. Erik Verlinde, who invented the entropic gravity theory and is also a member of the research team that signed this paper, is also a member of the team that signed this report. The results, he adds, drive him to continue developing and generalizing his theory, which he claims is only applicable for spiral and static galaxies that are now isolated from their surrounds.

Despite the fact that the study did not support a single hypothesis, it demonstrated that many existing models might be falsified by doing comparable experiments, hence decreasing the number of options available to researchers.

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References:

• https://www.space.com/20930-dark-matter.html#:~:text=The%20phenomenon%20is%20called%20gravitational,accepts%20that%20dark%20matter%20exists.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter#:~:text=Thus%2C%20dark%20matter%20constitutes%2085,and%20radiation%20except%20through%20gravity.