LMR-075 · Dark Universe
WIMP
The favorite suspect for dark matter — that hasn't shown up to a single lineup.
§ A first look
§ Depths
Six ways into the same idea — from bedtime story to chalkboard. No order required.
L1 · Crayon
Told like a bedtime story.
For a curious 10-year-old. No jargon. Just a picture in your head.
Most of the stuff in the universe is invisible, and scientists do not yet know what it is. For a long time, the favourite guess was a kind of heavy particle that doesn't shine, doesn't block light, and almost never bumps into anything — so it'd be everywhere but nearly impossible to catch. The nickname for that guess is WIMP, short for 'weakly interacting massive particle.' People have built huge sensitive machines deep underground for over twenty years trying to catch one. So far: zero. The detector is fine. The particle is fashionably late.
§ Strange but true
- 01Weakly Interacting Massive Particles — a leading dark-matter candidate that's still totally hypothetical.
- 02Decades of underground experiments have looked for them. Nothing.
- 03If they aren't WIMPs, dark matter might be something even weirder. The hunt is moving on.
§ From the field journal
WIMP
"The favorite suspect for dark matter — that hasn't shown up to a single lineup."
— observed, sketched, not yet fully understood.
§ Nearby