For decades, dark matter and its nature and location have remained elusive to cosmologists. Recently, a team of astronomers conducted a study to locate the mysterious substance, but the results show that there is not as much dark matter as previously theorized.

“Our calculations show that it should have shown up very clearly in our measurements. But it was just not there!” Christian Moni Bidin of the Astronomy Department at la Universidad de Concepción in Chile says in the European Southern Observatory (ESO) press release. Moni Bidin also headed the study and was the lead author of the team research paper, published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Dark matter is impossible to be seen or detected. It constitutes 74% of the mass in the Universe. How it is distributed around the Universe is unknown. Astronomers believe that dark matter is what causes and exerts the gravitational force around objects made of normal matter (i.e. everything that is not dark matter or dark energy), such as planets, stars, and galaxies.

In the past, astronomers considered that one certain location of dark matter would be around galaxies: a model known as the Standard Halo Model demonstrates how galaxies form and evolve. This model also states that they rotate as quickly as they do due to dark matter, which is thought to collect around the galaxies as a halo.

Working with the 2.2-meter MPG/ESO telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, the team produced a model in hopes of finding the amount, mass, density, and distribution of dark matter around the Sun (the nearest best bet for finding the substance) and our very own galaxy (the Milky Way). Utilizing a hypothesized amount of dark matter based on a past model, they measured the motions of hundreds of stars (sometimes created from the influence of dark matter) as far as 13,000 light-years away from the Sun.

But what the team observed was a lack of dark matter instead; the conjectured density was significantly lower. “The mystery of dark matter has just become even more mysterious,” Moni Bidin states.

He and his colleagues will further investigate and analyze their results. According to their paper, if matters are consistent, the distribution of dark matter would have to

“reconcile the results with the DM paradigm. The interpretation of these results is thus not straightforward. We believe that they require further investigation and analysis, both on the observational and the theoretical side, to solve the problems they present.”

“Despite the new results,” Moni Bidin continues, “the Milky Way certainly rotates much faster than the visible matter alone can account for. So, if dark matter is not present where we expected it, a new solution for the missing mass problem must be found.”

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As of two months ago, there is one less elusive particle for quantum scientists to track down: the Majorana fermion. A group of nanoscientists from the Kavli Institute, and from the Delft University of Technology’s Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM Foundation) in the Netherlands, has been able to detect the particle for the first time.

The Majorana fermion can revise scientists’ understanding of matter and anti-matter, change ideas about fundamental physics and cosmology, and revolutionize the construction of quantum computers.

The existence of the Majorana fermion, an elementary particle, was proposed by Italian theoretical physicist Ettore Majorana in the 1930s. Majorana, who mostly researched neutrino masses, provided scientists a solution to a set of equations from which elementary particles can be deduced. Most have been found since then. Others, such as the Higgs boson, currently being hunted by CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, have not.

All particles have their opposites, or an “anti” version. For example, the anti-particle of the electron is the positron. The Majorana fermion is special, unique to other particles: it is its own anti-particle, essentially made up of matter and anti-matter.

The research group was led by Dutch nanoscientist Leo Kouwenhoven, a professor of physics at TU Delft. Kouwenhoven and his team constructed a nanoscale electronic device, which they created with a nanowire combined with superconducting material and a strong magnetic field. After applying voltage to the device, they were able to detect the particles in the device, in which, according to TU Delft, “a pair of Majorana fermions ‘appear’ at either end of a nanowire.”

“If you take a solid material and you make the right combinations,” Kouwenhoven tells BBC News, “the natural particles living in these condensed matter structures will also obey this defining property of Majorana fermions – that a particle is equal its anti-particle.”

Not only would the discovery provide a better understanding of why there is more matter than anti-matter in the universe, but it could also help physicists confirm a theory stating that dark matter is really composed of Majorana fermions. Dark matter, a mysterious substance that accounts for 74% of the universe, has been puzzling scientists for decades.

The Majorana fermion is also capable of changing the way quantum computers function. Computers made with these particles would be more stable than those that are composed of other particles. They would also be less sensitive to external stimuli. Microsoft, who partially funded the research, hopes to produce quantum computers in the future.

Kouwenhoven and his team published their research in the journal Science on April 12.

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Shogo Masaki of the Department of Physics at Nagoya University and Masataka Fukugita and Naoki Yoshida of the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IMPU) collaborated in an experiment to create a computer simulation that would hopefully figure out the location of dark matter. In late January, their experiment was successful.

The term intergalactic refers to the physical space between galaxies where matter is hardly distributed. Scientists previously thought that intergalactic space comprised of nothing, being only empty, and that galaxies, in contrast, have the highest concentration of matter. Masaki, Fukugita, and Yoshida, however, have discovered that these intergalactic zones are packed with clumps of dark matter.

In addition, they also learned that galaxies do not have clear, defined edges; instead, they “have long outskirts of dark matter that extend to their nearby galaxies” according to IMPU’s press release. These “outskirts” contain much of the matter – and dark matter – in the universe.

The existence of dark matter was proposed by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in the 1930s. Since then, there have been numerous experiments around the globe involving dark matter. Dark matter’s nature is still enigmatic: it is an invisible, dense substance, and it cannot even be detected by instruments. Scientists do know that dark matter takes up about 23% of the Universe, with dark energy taking up 72% and the rest (planets and stars, for example) only 4%.

Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, dark matter is not random – it is uniform and organized. Masaki and his colleagues gathered recent observational data of 24 million galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and created a large simulation of matter distribution. With their knowledge of the large density of dark matter, they used gravitational lensing to find the substance’s location.

Because dark matter is so dense, it causes space and light from stars, galaxies, and other light-emitting objects to bend, making these celestial objects appear bigger and brighter. With gravitational lensing, Masaki and his colleagues measured how the galaxies’ light was bent, allowing them to locate dark matter.

Dark matter remains as elusive as ever: although we have found exactly where dark matter is, we still do not know what it is, but scientists are closer than ever to understanding the mysterious substance’s nature. Masaki, Fukugita, and Yoshida have published a paper describing details of their experiment in The Astrophysical Journal. A PDF of the preprint version is found here.

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An international team of astronomers has produced a map that covers a billion light-years worth of dark matter in the universe. Never before has dark matter been mapped on such a large scale.

Two members of the team, Catherine Heymans of the University of Edinburgh and Associate Professor Ludovic Van Waerbeke of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, presented their findings at the 119th meeting of American Astronomical Society, held last week.

The project took place at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLensS) in Hawaii and collected data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey. For more than five years, the team accumulated images of ten million galaxies – six billion light-years away – from four different regions in the sky during each of the seasons. Essentially peering at the universe when it was but six billions years old, they studied  how dark matter warped the light emitted by the galaxies.

The process of producing the map was completed through a method called gravitational lensing, in which bodies (e.g. galaxies, or, in this case, dark matter) are so massive that they curve space-time and distort light, making it travel in a curve, rather than in a line. By studying the distortions of the galaxies’ light, the team was able to determine the structure of the dark matter and plot its distribution.

“It is fascinating to be able to ‘see’ the dark matter using space-time distortion,” says Waerbeke at the American Astronomical society meeting. “It gives us privileged access to this mysterious mass in the Universe which cannot be observed otherwise. Knowing how dark matter is distributed is the very first step towards understanding its nature and how it fits within our current knowledge of physics.”

The universe is more or less a cosmic web of dark matter and galaxies. Dark matter is impossible to be detected by itself, making it seem invisible, though it makes its presence known through warping space-time and light. The mysterious substance makes up a whopping 23 percent of the universe, with dark energy taking up 72 percent and everything else (stars, planets, etc.) only 4 percent.

With creating such a large map of the cosmic web, astronomers and cosmologists are becoming closer to understanding the nature of dark matter and, ergo, a large portion of the universe. Dr. Heymans, a lecturer of physics and astronomy, says, “By analyzing light from the distant Universe, we can learn about what it has travelled through on its journey to reach us.

We hope that by mapping more dark matter than has been studied before, we are a step closer to understanding this material and its relationship with the galaxies in our Universe.”

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The epic story line that began back in 2010 with B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: New World is coming to a head in 2012. Dark Horse announces the most ambitious B.P.R.D. publishing schedule yet, with five new titles and some of the most earth-shattering events in the history of the series.

First up, in February comes B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Long Death, written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, with art by James Harren (Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest, Heralds). A team is sent to the deadly woods from New World to investigate a new series of disappearances, but they discover more than just the monster responsible, as loyalties are questioned and tensions mount.

March will see the release of B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Pickens County Horror, written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie, with art by Jason Latour (Wolverine, Scalped) and an all-new cover by Becky Cloonan! This chilling two-issue series brings a B.P.R.D. crew into the grips of a backwoods vampire clan hiding out in a Gothic southern home.

Next, in May comes B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Transformation of J. H. O’Donnell, pairing Mike Mignola with Scott Allie again for the discovery of what drove the Bureau’s expert on ancient foes to near madness after a mission with Hellboy twenty-four years earlier. This supernatural thrill ride features art by B.P.R.D. newcomer Max Fiumara (Amazing Spider-Man) and a cover by Becky Cloonan.

That same month features the return of the regular B.P.R.D. team of Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Tyler Crook, with B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Devil’s Engine. The Zinco Corporation again rears its ugly head after a devastating earthquake, pitting Devon and Fenix in an uneasy alliance against bat-faced monsters and the evil empire’s other mad-science experiments. Additionally, this new series will feature covers by former Hellboy artist Duncan Fegredo.

Finally, Cameron Stewart returns to the B.P.R.D. universe in June with B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth­: Exorcism! In this story we learn more about Ashley Strode’s evolution as an agent after she meets up with a familiar face for a series of exorcisms in a rural Indiana town. Mike Mignola and Cameron Stewart team up to share writing duties, with pencils by Cameron and covers by Viktor Kalvachev.

“Let’s break some stuff that can’t be fixed. Let’s turn some corners where there’s no going back” said Mike Mignola. “In both Hellboy and B.P.R.D., we’re saying, “Well, once we do this—once we round this corner—that’s it!” It’s not like, “Oh, Batman, different costume.” We’re doing stuff where there’s no way to fix it. That is the new reality in our world. You’re REALLY going to see that in 2012.”

B.P.R.D. is sure to be the most-talked-about series of the coming year, as the team stands at the brink of the end of the organization and the world itself. Finally, fresh off their long tenure on Stargate, one of television’s most successful science-fiction epics, series writers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie flex their comic-book storytelling muscles to create a thrilling new science-fiction universe.

Mallozzi and Mullie, best known for their work on the Stargate franchise series (Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe), are about to give you: Dark Matter.

A derelict ship floating in space. Its troubled crew awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got onboard. Their search for answers triggering the vessel’s deadly security system, awakening a relentless android bent on their destruction. Facing threats at every turn, they will have to work together to survive a dangerous voyage charged with vengeance, redemption, betrayals, and, ultimately, hidden secrets best left unknown.

Science fiction by science-fiction veterans is sci-fi action at its best! Dark Matter #1, the first in a four-issue miniseries with kinetic artwork by exciting newcomer Garry Brown, is on sale January 11, 2012.

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