Scientists say dark matter may be older than the Big Bang itself

 

Scientists say dark matter may be older than the Big Bang itself:

It is generally accepted that the Big Bang marked the beginning of everything we know – matter, energy, space, and time. 

 

After the Big Bang, the universe underwent a period of rapid expansion called cosmic inflation. However, some theories propose that cosmic inflation occurred before the Big Bang. Now, physicists suggest that dark matter arose during this inflationary period. 

 

Their new model, called warm inflation via freeze-in (or WIFI), describes how dark matter could have been created. During inflation, the universe was incredibly hot and dense. Tiny interactions between radiation and particles in this "thermal bath" could have produced dark matter particles. 

 

This is different from most models, where anything created during inflation is usually diluted into nothingness by the universe's rapid expansion. The researchers propose that instead of a singularity, a point of infinite density, there was a different phase before the Big Bang.

 

This phase could have been cosmic inflation, which lasted for an incredibly short time. The energy from this inflation then transferred to matter and light, leading to what we know as the Big Bang. The WIFI model introduces a new mechanism for dark matter production. 

 

It builds on the idea of "warm inflation," where radiation is produced during the universe's expansion. This creates a thermal bath where particles can interact. The researchers suggest that a field of hypothetical particles called "inflatons" drove cosmic inflation. 

 

These inflatons would have lost energy to radiation, which then produced dark matter particles.