A journey into one of the greatest mysteries of modern science, this book explores the hidden world of dark matter — and the proposition that it may reside in a parallel 'mirror' universe existing alongside our own.
Astronomical observations have established that most of the matter in the universe is in an invisible form, known as dark matter. Following its discovery by Fritz Zwicky in 1930 and confirmation by Kent Ford and Vera Rubin in the 1970s, NASA's 2001 explorer mission provided further proof that dark matter constitutes more than 80% of matter in the universe. It has since become clear that dark matter explains how galaxies formed from the uniformly expanding cosmic fluid as the universe evolved, thereby solving another major mystery of the cosmos.
The question at the frontier of current research in cosmology and particle physics is this: what exactly is dark matter? Many high-sensitivity experiments have been carried out to answer this question, but so far they have been unsuccessful. This has led to speculation that dark matter may exist in an alternate universe, where particles experience different forces than we do and interact with familiar matter only through gravity. This would explain why laboratory detectors — built from the material of the visible world — have failed to find such matter. We call this alternate realm the 'mirror universe' or 'replicate universe'. Focusing on lucid explanations instead of dense equations, the book introduces this fascinating concept to a general audience and reveals its powerful implications for our understanding of the universe.
Readership: The book is aimed at general readers with an interest in fundamental questions about the universe. The book will also appeal to high school and undergraduate students in physics.
