Newly detailed map of dark matter may help unravel its role in galaxy formation

A newly detailed map of dark matter found in cosmos has been created by Dark Energy Survey that can help in unraveling its role in galaxy formation.

Scientists on the Dark Energy Survey have released the first in a series of dark matter maps of the cosmos. These maps, created with one of the world's most powerful digital cameras, are the largest contiguous maps created at this level of detail and will improve our understanding of dark matter's role in the formation of galaxies.

Analysis of the clumpiness of the dark matter in the maps would also allow scientists to probe the nature of the mysterious dark energy, believed to be causing the expansion of the universe to speed up.

The new maps were created using data captured by the Dark Energy Camera, a 570-megapixel imaging device that was the primary instrument for the Dark Energy Survey (DES).

This analysis was led by Vinu Vikram of Argonne National Laboratory (then at the University of Pennsylvania) and Chihway Chang of ETH Zurich. Vikram, Chang and their collaborators at Penn, ETH Zurich, the University of Portsmouth, the University of Manchester and other DES institutions worked for more than a year to carefully validate the lensing maps.