Can you find the Dark Matter that dominates our Universe? Winton Capital offers you the chance to unlock the secrets of dark worlds.
There is more to the Universe than meets the eye. Out in the cosmos exists a form of matter that outnumbers the stuff we can see by almost 7 to 1, and we don't know what it is. What we do know is that it does not emit or absorb light, so we call it Dark Matter.
Such a vast amount of aggregated matter does not go unnoticed. In fact we observe that this stuff aggregates and forms massive structures called Dark Matter Halos.
Although dark, it warps and bends spacetime such that any light from a background galaxy which passes close to the Dark Matter will have its path altered and changed. This bending causes the galaxy to appear as an ellipse in the sky.
Figure 1: Dark Matter bending the light from a background galaxy. In extreme cases the galaxy here is seen as the two arcs surrounding it. (Credit: NASA, ESA, and Johan Richard (Caltech, USA))
Since there are many galaxies behind a Dark Matter halo, their shapes will correlate with its position.
Figure 2: The effect of Dark Matter on the sky
What’s The Problem?
Detecting these Dark Matter halos is hard, but possible using this data. If we can accurately estimate the positions of these halos, we can then understand the function they play in the Universe. There are various methods to attack the problem (we have given you some examples), however we have not been able to reach the level of precision required to understand exactly where this Dark Matter is for all Dark Matter halos.
We challenge YOU to detect the most elusive, mysterious and yet most abundant matter in all existence.
Figure 3: Dark Matter in Action. If you look closely at this real world example, you can see the warped and elliptical galaxies. (Credit NASA; ESA; L. Bradley (Johns Hopkins University); R. Bouwens (University of California, Santa Cruz); H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University); and G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Challenge Organisers: David Harvey (Astrophysics PhD Student, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh), Dr. Tom Kitching (Royal Society Post Doctorial Fellow, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
Started: 4:00 pm, Friday 12 October 2012 UTC
Ended: 11:59 pm, Sunday 16 December 2012 UTC (65 total days)
Points: this competition awarded standard ranking points
Tiers: this competition counted towards tiers