Researchers are using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to investigate potential dark matter candidates, aiming to detect signals from hypothetical particles called axions.
If dark matter consists of axions, these particles may decay into photons. The JWST’s infrared sensitivity could help detect these photons, providing evidence of dark matter.
The telescope’s ability to detect faint objects and differentiate light frequencies allows it to search for a distinct spectral signature of axion decay.
Axions, if they exist, must have an extremely long lifespan, making their decay events rare. However, given the estimated number of axions in the Milky Way, such events could still be detectable.
Scientists are analysing data from the Milky Way’s dark matter halo and nearby dwarf galaxies, seeking potential dark matter signals in JWST’s observations.
Dark matter searches are being conducted using JWST’s blank-sky fields, originally intended for background noise removal, offering an alternative method to detect axion decay.
If JWST does not find axion decay signals, it would not rule out axions as dark matter candidates but would suggest their mass or interactions fall outside the telescope’s detection range. Both studies were published on 18 February in Physical Review Letters.