English

Noun

dark matter ‎(uncountable)

1. (astronomy, astrophysics) Particles of matter that cannot be detected by their radiation but whose presence is inferred from gravitational effects.
   • 2001, Susan M. Fitzpatrick, John T. Brue, Carving Our Destiny: Scientific Research Faces a New Millenium,

     The evidence for dark matter in galaxies started to accumulate in the mid-1970s. By the following decade it became clear that essentially all galaxies, including our own Milky Way, are surrounded by extensive halos of dark matter.

   • 2004, L. Bergström, A. Goobar, Particle Astrophysics and the Dark Sector of the Universe, in John W. Mason (editor), Astrophysics Update, pages 124-125,

     On large scales like that of clusters of galaxies, gravitational lensing indicates that the dark matter is smoothly distributed, on the average.

Derived terms

See also

• dark energy

Translations