Dark Matter Found? $2 Billion Orbital Experiment Detects Hints (Earth, pulsars, light)

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"A $2 billion particle detector attached to the International Space Station has detected the potential signature of dark matter annihilation in the Cosmos, scientists have announced today.

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) was attached to the space station in May 2011 by space shuttle Endeavour — the second-to last shuttle mission to the orbital outpost.

Two Billion Dollar Cosmic Ray Detector Confirms Possible Signs of Dark Matter - ScienceNOW

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A more readable article on the AMS is

http∶//www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/science/space/new-clues-to-the-mystery-of-dark-matter.html?ref=science

The AMS measures the ratio of positrons to electrons as a function of particle energy. If the anti-matter (positrons) were the result of collisions between primordial dark-matter, the positron/electron ratio would increase with particle energy up to a certain energy level, after which the ratio would undergo a sharp decrease, (If the positrons and electrons are derived from pulsars or other later-in-time phenomena, the ratio would continue to increase with energy level.) The AMS has not yet collected enough data at high energy levels to detect the sharp drop-off to determine if the detected positrons/electrons are the residue of decay of dark matter created at the time of the big bang.

Sam Ting is an interesting character. He shared a Nobel prize for the joint (but independent) discovery of the J/psi particle. The letter "J" (Ting's choice) is a close replica of the Chinese character of his name. Not narcissistic much! The other co-discoverer, an American, selected the Greek letter "psi." Hence the particle will for ever more be known as "J/psi."

Congress mandated an additional space shuttle flight to install the AMS on the space station. It was done primarily to give NASA employees in Florida a few additional paychecks before the NASA shuttle shutdown. (The AMS experiment was not peer-reviewed.) I don't know if Congress appropriated the money for the additional flight, or whether the money came out of NASA's previously appropriated budget. It would be a shame if the latter were true.

$2B is quite a price to pay to study dark matter. Studies are being done at earth-bound laboratories and at the LHC in Geneva, but the LHC can't reach the energy levels of high-altitude cosmic collisions.

Stay tuned!