Dark matter, leaks, spiraling into a massive black hole could emit gamma rays that can be seen from Earth, scientists say. Dark Matter in the Universe five times more than the usual $ CUT $, but it does not radiate, does not reflect or absorb light, thus being fully transparent or invisible. But if the particles of dark matter around black holes can produce gamma rays (high-energy light), these emissions could provide scientists with a new way to explore this mysterious material.

The Process responsible for creating the gamma rays, seems somewhat counterintuitive, since challenges two common assumptions: Nothing can leave the black hole and there is no free lunch in a mousetrap.

Jeremy Shnittman - theoretical astrophysicist from the Control Center Goddard Space Flight Center NASA, and he begins a project to study the data of cosmic gamma-ray telescope Fermi search for high-energy light at the boundary of a black hole that could be emitted by dark matter.

"We are, in fact, only begun to address this issue - said Shnittman. - As a theoretical astrophysicist in his career, I do not analyze so much data, so I'll have to brush up. Fortunately, I was surrounded by people here at Goddard, who are the real experts, according to Fermi. "

Search for dark matter have Shnittmana started with a computer program that he developed a decade. It simulates the way in 3D particles, which are carried in the space near the black hole, some are close enough to reach its orbit or fall into it.

About a year ago, he decided to set up a program for the simulation of dark matter particles. The result is a video that shows how sub-atomic particles are captured by the gravitational pull of the black hole and circling around the region called ergosphere (in which all the particles should rotate in the direction of rotation of the black hole). Some of these particles collide and destroy each other (are annihilated), and it produces gamma rays.

Typically, these particles of light would fall into a black hole, unable to cope with its attraction, if not the so-called process of Penrose.

In 1971, astrophysicist Roger Penrose showed that if very close to the black hole born two photons, there is a possibility that one will escape, and the other will fall inside. This idea contradicts the idea that nothing can leave the black hole, or nothing of what crosses the "event horizon" - the boundary beyond which the gravitational pull becomes so strong that even light can not escape it.

According to the principle of Penrose, the particles are formed beyond this point of no return, but under normal circumstances, each particle would have a chance to escape. Therefore, the principle of Penrose as it changes the fate of at least one particle, giving her a chance to retreat.

In 2009, a team of scientists has shown that the process can be applied to Penrose dark matter particles that annihilate to form two gamma rays. If dark matter particles annihilate close to the surface of the black hole, telescopes on Earth could catch the escaping gamma rays.

Model Shnittmana showed even more ways that can elect the particles, including the fact that there should be more of gamma-rays, which can leave the black hole, and their energy will be even higher. A brief description of the results was published in Physical Review Letters, and in greater detail - in the Astrophysical Journal.

Armed with these results, Shnittman and his colleagues are now searching for the signal, although it is believed that it will be very dull compared to many other sources of gamma radiation. Scientists create a list of target galaxies, which have a number of gamma-ray sources and a very massive black hole.

"The larger the black hole, the greater the signal, - says Shnitttman. - It is scaled so that if the mass of the black hole increases your 10 orders, the expected signal will increase for 1000 orders. "

"The first hints of the discovery of this effect is certainly not indicative of a particular finding. But provide a powerful upper limit for this type of process as well as the reinforcement of the theory of the interaction of high-energy particles of dark matter. This is progress. "

Particles that leave the black hole by the Penrose process, not only are exempt, but leave with a greater energy than had before. In fact, the final energy must be significantly greater. It is, in fact, free cheese.

Since the publication of the Penrose's work, the scientists showed that the escaping particles not only steal energy from their partners (mainly starting from the other particles), but also steal it from a rotating black hole. Each particle Penrose, that leaves a black hole, slowing its rotation a tiny amount.

(When Penrose initially proposed the idea, he wrote that this phenomenon could be used in an advanced society like waste recycling with the release of energy, which would act debris particles falling into a black hole, producing high-energy output).

Shnittman says he hopes to detect a signal of dark matter in the Fermi data. However, to see such a small signal to the general background of the gamma-ray universe will be very difficult, and even the very existence of the signal is at issue: whether to form particles of dark matter gamma rays upon annihilation?

Recall that scientists do not know what makes up dark matter, not to mention the fact, whether it annihilate particles, such as the model suggests Shnittmana. Therefore, if Shnittman will signal this will be a powerful breakthrough in the research of dark matter.