What does WIMP mean in astronomy?

What does WIMP mean in astronomy?

weakly interacting massive particle
The leading candidate that might explain the fundamental make-up of dark matter is a hypothetical particle called the weakly interacting massive particle, or WIMP.

What is the difference between WIMPs and axions?

Axions are even trickier than WIMPs. They’re theorized to be extremely light—a millionth of an electronvolt or so, about a trillion times lighter than the already tiny electron—making them next to impossible to produce or study in a traditional particle physics experiment.

Is dark matter a WIMP?

One of the earliest candidates for the dark matter particle are the WIMPs, for weakly-interacting massive particles. It’s not so much a name as a catch-all category. In this case, “weakly-interacting” means “interacts via the weak nuclear force” (although that interaction is also literally weak).

Are MACHOs and WIMPs see through?

The MACHO These objects, including neutron stars, and brown and white dwarfs, are composed of ordinary matter. So how could they be invisible? The reason is that they emit very little to no light. One way to observe them is by monitoring the brightness of distant stars.

What does Whimp stand for?

whimp or wimp The original and still by far the most common spelling of this common bit of slang meaning “weakling, coward,” is “wimp.” If you use the much less common “whimp” instead people may regard you as a little wimpy.

What do you know about WIMP?

WIMP stands for Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers (or maybe Windows, Icons, Mouse, Pull-down menus). WIMP is the style of graphical user interface that uses the above-mentioned common widgets. WIMP is also sometimes said to be a paradigm for human-computer interaction.

What is meant by MACHOs and WIMPs?

WIMP is an acronym for weakly interacting massive par- ticle and MACHO is an acronym for massive (astrophys- ical) compact halo object. WIMPs and MACHOs are two of the most popular DARK MATTER candidates. Thus it is called dark matter.

What are WIMPs made of?

WIMPs are Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, hypothetical particles which may be the main (or only) component of Dark Matter, a form of matter which emits and absorbs no light and which comprises approx 75% of all mass in the observable universe.

Is a graviton a WIMP?

The gravitino is the spin-3/2 fermion SUSY partner to the, as yet undiscovered, graviton. Its weak gravitational coupling to matter, however, means it is almost impossible to directly detect, and so is a less favoured WIMP candidate at present.

Has a WIMP been detected?

So far, scientists have only observed indirect evidence of dark matter. A definitive, direct detection of dark matter particles has yet to be made. There are several theories to account for what that particle might be like. The most favoured one has been the WIMP, or Weakly Interacting Massive Particle.

What can WIMPs do?

As more and more WIMPs thermalize inside the Sun, they begin to annihilate with each other, forming a variety of particles, including high-energy neutrinos. These neutrinos may then travel to the Earth to be detected in one of the many neutrino telescopes, such as the Super-Kamiokande detector in Japan.

Are WIMPs baryonic?

The masses typically required for these particles are in the range 1 GeV–1 TeV, and these hypothetical dark matter particles are called WIMPs. An important difference between WIMPs and MACHOs is that WIMPs are non-baryonic and MACHOS are typically (but not always) formed from baryonic material.

What are Wimps?

– Universe Today What are WIMPs? WIMPs are Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, hypothetical particles which may be the main (or only) component of Dark Matter, a form of matter which emits and absorbs no light and which comprises approx 75% of all mass in the observable universe.

What exactly is a star?

But just what is a star, exactly? A star is a luminous ball of gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, held together by its own gravity. Nuclear fusion reactions in its core support the star against gravity and produce photons and heat, as well as small amounts of heavier elements. The Sun is the closest star to Earth.

What is a wimp particle?

WIMPs are Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, hypothetical particles which may be the main (or only) component of Dark Matter, a form of matter which emits and absorbs no light and which comprises approx 75% of all mass in the observable universe. The ‘weakly’ is a bit of a pun; WIMPs would interact with themselves and with other forms

Why are Wimps considered to be dark matter?

Large mass compared to standard particles (WIMPs with sub- GeV masses may be considered to be light dark matter ). Because of their lack of electromagnetic interaction with normal matter, WIMPs would be invisible through normal electromagnetic observations.