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I think we need a version of the New Battery Technology Checklist[1] for this type of article. (Though I understand that the research itself often just aims sol
by jetrink 2y ago
I think we need a version of the New Battery Technology Checklist[1] for this type of article. (Though I understand that the research itself often just aims solve specific tensions in cosmology, and it is only the reporting that over-hypes it as a full replacement for dark matter.)
Dear alternative dark matter theory claimant,
Thank you for your submission of a proposed revolutionary theory to replace dark matter. Your new theory claims to be superior to dark matter models and will transform our understanding of the universe. Unfortunately, your theory will likely fail, because:
[ ] It cannot explain galaxy rotation curves across all galaxy types.
[ ] It fails to account for gravitational lensing observed in galaxy clusters.
[ ] It cannot explain the Bullet Cluster observations where dark matter appears separated from normal matter.
[ ] It is inconsistent with the cosmic microwave background anisotropies.
[ ] It cannot explain the large-scale structure and formation of the universe.
[ ] It introduces arbitrary parameters without physical justification.
[ ] It lacks a sound theoretical foundation or violates established physics principles.
[ ] It fails to explain the observed velocity dispersions in dwarf spheroidal galaxies.
[ ] It cannot account for empirical relations like the Tully-Fisher relation.
[ ] It cannot be tested or falsified by current or near-future experiments.
[ ] Your claims are unfounded or exaggerated.
1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26633670 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26633670
- whatshisface 2y ago>[ ] It introduces arbitrary parameters without physical justification. Every fundamental theory does this.
- marshray 2y agoAnd they come along about once in a century. Which doesn't make it wrong, but is it perhaps enough to call it an extraordinary claim?
- whatshisface 2y agoDark matter is one of the few things that has been studied enough for all of the ordinary explanations to have been ruled out.
- MattPalmer1086 2y agoIronically, many of those are also levelled at dark matter theories. Tully-Fisher - dark matter fails to explain the Tully-Fisher relation naturally, and requires a lot of tweaking and feedback effects (arbitrary parameters). Rotation curves - recent empirical observations shows galactic rotation curves remain flat far beyond what dark matter can explain [1] Falsified - we've been trying to find dark matter for a long time and failed. The window of possible candidates for dark matter is now surprisingly small. I am not claiming that dark matter is wrong. I am claiming that the success of it is by no means proven , and it has many problems of its own (including those you list as problems for alternative theories). [1] https://tritonstation.com/2024/06/18/rotation-curves-still-flat-after-a-million-light-years/ https://tritonstation.com/2024/06/18/rotation-curves-still-f...
- hall0ween 2y agoI enjoy reading these kinds of physics / astro-physics debates on HN. They make the neuroscience ones I’m use to seem quaint and manageable in comparison.
- j45 2y agoOne fun aspect of science for me is until it's explained, the explanation still exists, just our awareness and discovery doesn't, yet.
- elashri 2y ago> Falsified - we've been trying to find dark matter for a long time and failed. The window of possible candidates for dark matter is now surprisingly small It needs to be falsifiable not necessary to be in a direct or easy way. We still currently have a large portion of the dark sector parameter space unexplored. I would not call that surprisingly small [1]. Also there are many models of dark matter that was excluded by experiments already. I would describe falsifability as a problem fpr MOND models. [1] https://pdgweb.lbl.gov/2024/reviews/rpp2024-rev-dark-matter.pdf https://pdgweb.lbl.gov/2024/reviews/rpp2024-rev-dark-matter....
- MattPalmer1086 2y ago
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- banku_brougham 2y agoI'm doing a sed `s/dark matter/luminiferous ether/g` replacement here and it holds up!
- stefantalpalaru 2y ago[dead]
- moi2388 2y agoNeither can dark matter, unless ad hoc distributions are added, and we have arbitrary speed ups and slow downs of inflation, and if current distance and red shift measurements are valid, which we know they are not. The problem is that the distance measurements are wrong, and the models have a lot of simplifications due to otherwise being too computationally complex.