Dark matter-free galaxy conflicts with standard cosmology model

A recently published international study A discovery that goes against the standard model of current cosmology: First evidence of a large galaxy free of dark matter. published in the magazine Astronomy and AstrophysicsThe study analyzes the galaxy NGC 1277, which was detected by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2018 and is located 240 million light-years away.

Dark matter is found in about 85% of the matter in the universe and is fundamental to the formation and evolution of individual galaxies and massive galactic clusters. Because it is a substance that does not interact with light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation, it cannot be observed directly, but can be detected by its gravitational effect on the universe.

NGC 1277 is not small: The stellar mass is estimated to be about 150 billion times the mass of the Sun. Its classification as a “remnant galaxy” means it hasn’t changed much in the last 12 billion years. Therefore, between 10% and 70% of its mass should consist of dark matter. However, observations revealed less than 5% of this component and were consistent with its complete absence.

How does the study explain the “disappearance” of dark matter?

To clarify the absence of dark matter in NGC 1277, study co-author Anna Ferré-Mateu suggests in a statement from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC): “The gravitational interaction with the surrounding environment within the galaxy cluster in which this galaxy is located pushed the dark matter away.”

Another interpretation, says astrophysics, “dark matter has been expelled from the system When the galaxy was formed by the fusion of protogalactic fragments that gave rise to the remnant galaxy”. These fragments are huge objects of gas and dust in the process of collapsing.

A challenge to the standard model?

although reasonable, The two explanations presented are rejected by the authors themselves. those who find them inadequate. In the IAC publication, first author of the study, Sebastién Comerón, says the mystery of how a massive galaxy could form without dark matter “remains a puzzle.”

Paradoxically, the absence of dark matter in a galaxy is a serious problem for the standard model of cosmology, but it poses an even bigger problem for proponents of alternative theories. “Although dark matter in a given galaxy can disappear, gravity can never be changed,” says co-author Ignacio Trujillo.

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