https://phys.org/news/2020-03-scientists-mystery-dark.html Scientists shed light on mystery of dark matter: Scientists have identified a sub-atomic particle that could have formed the "dark matter" in the Universe during the Big Bang. Up to 80% of the Universe could be dark matter, but despite many decades of study, its physical origin has remained an enigma. While it cannot be seen directly, scientists know it exists because of its interaction via gravity with visible matter like stars and planets. Dark matter is composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect or emit light. Now, nuclear physicists at the University of York are putting forward a new candidate for the mysterious matter—a particle they recently discovered called the d-star hexaquark. The particle is composed of six quarks—the fundamental particles that usually combine in trios to make up protons and neutrons. Importantly, the six quarks in a d-star result in a boson particle, which means that when many d-stars are present they can combine together in very different ways to the protons and neutrons. more at link...... the paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6471/ab67e8 A new possibility for light-quark dark matter: Abstract: Despite many decades of study the physical origin of 'dark matter' (DM) in the Universe remains elusive. In this letter we calculate the properties of a completely new DM candidate—Bose–Einstein condensates formed from a recently discovered bosonic particle in the light-quark sector, the Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! hexaquark. In this first study, we show stable Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Bose–Einstein condensates could form in the primordial early universe, with a production rate sufficiently large that they are a plausible new candidate for DM. Some possible astronomical signatures of such DM are also presented.
