Mirror dark matter discovered?

TL;DR

Recent astrophysical observations suggest dark matter may exhibit both collisionless and self-interacting behaviors in galaxy clusters, challenging traditional models and supporting mirror dark matter as a flexible alternative.

Contribution

This paper discusses how mirror dark matter models naturally explain diverse dark matter behaviors observed in galaxy cluster collisions.

Findings

Bullet cluster shows collisionless dark matter behavior

Abell 520 indicates significant dark matter self-interaction

Mirror dark matter models accommodate both behaviors

Abstract

Recent astrophysical data indicates that dark matter shows a controversial behaviour in galaxy cluster collisions. In case of the notorious Bullet cluster, dark matter component of the cluster behaves like a collisionless system. However, its behaviour in the Abell 520 cluster indicates a significant self-interaction cross-section. It is hard for the WIMP based dark matter models to reconcile such a diverse behaviour. Mirror dark matter models, on the contrary, are more flexible and for them diverse behaviour of the dark matter is a natural expectation.