Ask A Genius 1061: The Hindemburg Melão Jr. Session 2, More on Dark Matter and Collapsed Matter
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/08/03
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Hindemburg Melão Jr. further asks, “Regarding the answer about dark matter, the evidence suggests different properties than what would result from the collapse of baryonic or leptonic matter objects. For example: gravitational effects (produced by dark matter) are very spread out, rather than concentrated, as would be natural if it was generated from the collapses of neutron stars, etc.). In some aspects, he could interpret according to his model, but in this case it is an inconsistency that does not depend on the model, but on the distribution of the observed effects.”
Rick Rosner: I acknowledge that my understanding of this particular branch of physics needs to be more sophisticated to engage fully in this argument. A well-distributed accumulation of collapsed matter could potentially generate the observed effects. I hypothesize that if we consider galaxies that have existed for not just tens of billions but hundreds of billions of years or more, they might possess a well-distributed halo of aged matter due to the settling characteristics of old systems. The solar system experienced numerous collisions initially, but now, billions of years later, such collisions are rare.
I would assume that in a galaxy aged around 100 billion years, the matter it contains, both visible and otherwise, would be situated far from the galactic center in well-defined orbits. This could potentially produce large-scale effects similar to those observed in the rotational velocities of galaxies at various distances from the center. The hypothesis is that the galaxy is embedded within a disk of matter, which I argue might be the case. However, if this hypothesis is physically untenable, I concede that there could be alternative explanations involving the geometry of space, particularly where there is less matter.
There are gravitational theories that attempt to eliminate the need for dark matter by proposing that gravitational force diminishes at a rate less steep than the inverse-square law. Instead of reducing over 1/r², it may fall off at a rate of 1/r to a power slightly less than 2, such as 1/r^1.96.
While I find these alternative gravitational theories intriguing, I am more inclined to believe in the existence of regular baryonic matter in very stable orbits. Collisions among these objects would be exceedingly rare, making gravitational lensing a likely observable phenomenon. Nonetheless, gravitational lensing could also be attributed to mysterious dark matter, thus complicating the distinction between these hypotheses.
Rick Rosner, American Comedy Writer, www.rickrosner.org
Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Independent Journalist, www.in-sightpublishing.com
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