Indian-American professor develops method to hunt dark matter

An international team of scientists led by an Indian-American professor has discovered a new method that may help in detecting dwarf galaxies dominated by dark matterand explain ripples in the outer disk of the galaxy.

• Sukanya Chakrabarti, assistant professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, uses waves in the galactic disk to map the interior structure and mass of galaxies.
• This new method to characterise dark matter marks the first real application of the field of galactoseismology.

Ms. Chakrabarti’s team used spectroscopic observations to calculate the speed of the three Cepheid variables stars used as yardsticks to measure distance in galaxies in the Norma constellation.

• The current study tracks a cluster of Cepheids that are racing away at an average speed of 4,50,000 miles per hour while the radial velocity of stars in the stellar disk of the Milky Way is about 13,000 miles per hour.