LMAC and STEMsocial Explore a Mystery of the Universe: Dark Matter

I read Hive account@lemouth's blog on dark matter with great attention, but when it came to making a collage, I was stumped. There are things we know (or surmise from evidence) about dark matter. But there are no pictures of the thing itself. And there is uncertainty. Dark matter is still a theoretical entity. Given this theoretical aspect of dark matter, I tried to combine what I've read (from sources besides Hive account@lemouth's blog) with intuition. After all, this is an art/science project.

I started from two reference points. One is the Big Bang Theory and the other is the fact that from two dark matter particles, we may get cosmic and gamma rays.

The Big Bang
Hive account@lemouth has explained that black holes and dark matter "are different objects". There may be an exception, though, he explained: primordial black holes. Once you say the word primordial you have my attention. So I looked up some articles for clues to help me understand more about primordial black holes. This would help with my collage concept.
Primordial Black Hole Formation

Credit: European Space Agency. Used under CC 4.0 license.

According to Joshua Sokol, writing for Quantum Magazine, "a hidden population of such “primordial” black holes could conceivably constitute dark matter". Primordial black holes could have formed soon (that is, in the first second!!) after the Big Bang!

This is controversial, but it suited my collage so I pursued this line of thought. Primordial black holes are associated with the beginning of the universe. If primordial black holes constitute dark matter, then my collage makes sense. The beginning of the universe would then be associated with dark matter.

Here is a Youtube video that discusses the possibility that primordial black holes were created just after the beginning of the universe.

Gamma Rays and Cosmic Rays
There is another reason I focused on the theme of creation in my collage. As Hive account@lemouth explains in his blog, "Two dark matter particles..." can give "rise to cosmic ray and gamma ray signals". That struck me when I read it. Out of the invisible, out of the mysterious unknown, we get two entities--energy in the form of gamma rays and cosmic rays. Is that not a form of creation?

Gamma Ray Bursts, Milky Way

Image credit: NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Used under public domain license.

In the image above, gamma ray "enigmatic excesses not predicted by the theoretical models" were captured, over a five-year period. These unexplained (unexpected) gamma ray burst are believed to track the presence of dark matter at the heart of the Milky Way. The gamma ray glow at the center of the Milky Way may be caused by annihilating dark matter. In other words, from dark matter annihilation we get a gamma ray glow--energy.

Please keep in mind as I write this, that the discussion about dark matter is still theoretical and there are disagreements about the 'proof'. For example, one group of researchers at the university of California, Irvine, published an article in 2020 with this heading: "Dark Matter Destruction Ruled Out As Origin of Extra Radiation in Milky Way’s Galactic Center".

Collage #2
I added this collage because I didn't use any LIL images in the first collage I created. I had so much trouble getting the impression down and tying it to the theory, that I simply could not add another element. However, the LMAC LIL Gallery is rich in images of all kinds. My second collage, posted below, is derived from the template image (Hive account@shaka and Hive account@lemouth) and from an image contributed to LIL by Hive account@quantumg, one of my esteemed LMAC colleagues.

Becoming: The Dynamic Interaction of Dark Matter in the Cosmos

My Collages

I used a single (public domain) image from Wikimedia Commons for my primary collage.

Creation of the Sun, Moon and Planets (Sistine Chapel Ceiling), Michelangelo

Frank Vinc. Public domain

For two frames in the GIF I used a lightning filter from Lunapic. For the flashing sparks I used a shape that is available on Paint 3D. For blending the images I used GIMP.

Collage #2
I used the template photo (Hive account@shaka and Hive account@lemouth) and Hive account@quantumg's ring planet

I used another filter in Lunapic to blend these two images. I repeated that filter a few times to get the progressive effect, and used Gimp to create the frames.

LMAC and STEMsocial
The challenge this week was to be creative, and yet tether that creativity to a theme. It was a pleasure to be part of this effort.

LMAC and LIL
Every week we run a collage contest in the LMAC community, and we have available for all of Hive a library of images. These images can be used by anyone on Hive for any project. Everybody on Hive can contribute images to the gallery. It is a Hive-wide resource. Rules for the contest are here. Rules for the image gallery are here.
Discord: https://discord.gg/CEPZVdmYmf
STEMsocial
If this is the first time you've read a blog by Hive account@lemouth, you are missing out. If you're like me, you might have skipped high school physics. It's not too late to become literate in the subject. Hive account@lemouth writes a weekly blog. You can find his blog, and other outstanding science articles in the STEMsocial community.
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/9c7pKVD
Thank you!
I don't compete in the contest. I make collages for the creative enjoyment. What an adventure that was this week. What a challenge. Thank you Hive account@shaka and Hive account@lemouth for a mind-bending, mind-expanding experience.