{"id":403803,"date":"2026-01-12T02:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/403803\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T02:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:55:12","slug":"we-have-no-idea-what-most-of-the-universe-is-made-of-but-scientists-are-closer-than-ever-to-finding-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/403803\/","title":{"rendered":"We have no idea what most of the universe is made of, but scientists are closer than ever to finding out"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\"Rupak<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

image:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Rupak Mahapatra, an experimental particle physicist, holds a SuperCDMS detector. The highly sensitive devices, which are fabricated at Texas A&M University, are deepening the search for dark matter and have potential applications in quantum computing.<\/p>\n

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view more\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Credit: Texas A&M University Division of Marketing and Communications<\/p>\n

When it comes to understanding the universe, what we know is only a sliver of the whole picture. Dark matter and dark energy make up about 95% of the universe, leaving only 5% \u201cordinary matter,\u201d or what we can see. Dr. Rupak Mahapatra<\/a>, an experimental particle physicist at Texas A&M University, designs highly advanced semiconductor detectors with cryogenic quantum sensors, powering experiments worldwide and pushing the boundaries to explore this most profound mystery.<\/p>\n

Mahapatra likens our understanding of the universe \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 to an old parable: \u201cIt\u2019s like trying to describe an elephant by only touching its tail. We sense something massive and complex, but we\u2019re only grasping a tiny part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and co-authors are featured in the prestigious journal Applied Physics Letters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What are dark matter and dark energy?<\/p>\n

Dark matter and energy are so named because what they are comprised of is unknown. Dark matter accounts for most of the mass in galaxies and galaxy clusters, shaping their structure on the largest scales. Dark energy, on the other hand, refers to the force driving the universe\u2019s accelerated expansion. In other words, dark matter holds things together, while dark energy is pulling them apart.<\/p>\n

Despite their abundance, neither emits, absorbs or reflects light, making them nearly impossible to observe directly. Yet, their gravitational effects shape galaxies and cosmic structures. Dark energy is even more dominant than dark matter: it makes up about 68% of the universe\u2019s total energy content, while dark matter is about 27%.<\/p>\n

Detecting whispers in a hurricane<\/p>\n

At Texas A&M, Mahapatra\u2019s group is building detectors so sensitive they can pick up signals from particles that interact rarely with ordinary matter, signals that could reveal the nature of dark matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge is that dark matter interacts so weakly that we need detectors capable of seeing events that might happen once in a year, or even once in a decade,\u201d Mahapatra said.<\/p>\n

The team contributed<\/a> to a world-leading dark matter search using a detector called TESSERACT. \u201cIt\u2019s about innovation,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re finding ways to amplify signals that were previously buried in noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas A&M is part of a select group<\/a> of institutions working on the TESSERACT experiments.<\/p>\n

Pushing the limits of what\u2019s possible<\/p>\n

Mahapatra\u2019s work builds on a long history of pushing detection limits, with world-leading searches through his participation in the SuperCDMS experiment for the past 25 years. In a landmark 2014 paper in Physical Review Letters<\/a>, he and collaborators introduced voltage-assisted calorimetric ionization detection in the SuperCDMS experiment<\/a> \u2014 a breakthrough that allowed researchers to probe low-mass WIMPs<\/a>, a leading dark matter candidate. This technique dramatically improved sensitivity for particles that were previously beyond reach.<\/p>\n

More recently, in 2022, Mahapatra co-authored a study<\/a> exploring complementary detection strategies \u2014 direct detection, indirect detection and collider searches for a WIMP. This work underscores the global, multi-pronged approach to solving the dark matter puzzle.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo single experiment will give us all the answers,\u201d Mahapatra notes. \u201cWe need synergy between different methods to piece together the full picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Understanding dark matter isn\u2019t just an academic exercise, it\u2019s key to unlocking the fundamental laws of nature. \u201cIf we can detect dark matter, we\u2019ll open a new chapter in physics,\u201d Mahapatra said. \u201cThe search needs extremely sensitive sensing technologies and it could lead to technologies we can\u2019t even imagine today.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Are WIMPs?<\/p>\n

WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles) are one of the most promising candidates for dark matter. They\u2019re hypothetical particles that interact through gravity and the weak nuclear force, making them incredibly hard to detect.<\/p>\n

\tWhy they matter: If WIMPs exist, they could explain the missing mass in the universe.
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\n\tHow we search: Experiments like SuperCDMS and TESSERACT use ultra-sensitive detectors cooled to near absolute zero to catch rare interactions between WIMPs and ordinary matter.
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\n\tThe challenge: A WIMP might pass through Earth without leaving a trace, so scientists need years of data to spot even a single event.<\/p>\n

By Lesley Henton, Texas A&M University Division of Marketing and Communications<\/p>\n

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Journal<\/p>\n

Applied Physics Letters<\/p>\n

Article Title<\/p>\n

Spontaneous generation of athermal phonon bursts within bulk silicon causing excess noise, low energy background events, and quasiparticle poisoning in superconducting sensors<\/p>\n

Article Publication Date<\/p>\n

30-Dec-2025<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"image:\u00a0 Dr. Rupak Mahapatra, an experimental particle physicist, holds a SuperCDMS detector. The highly sensitive devices, which are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[49,48,314,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-403803","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physics","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-physics","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}