How the Nonbaryonic Dark Matter Theory Grew

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development and increasing evidence for nonbaryonic dark matter, emphasizing its dominance in the universe's mass and the challenges in detecting its elusive particles.

Contribution

It provides a historical overview of how the nonbaryonic dark matter theory gained support over four decades, highlighting key developments and evidence.

Findings

Nonbaryonic matter dominates the universe's mass.

Evidence for nonbaryonic dark matter has significantly strengthened over time.

Detection of nonbaryonic dark matter remains challenging.

Abstract

The evidence is that the mass of the universe is dominated by an exotic nonbaryonic form of matter largely draped around the galaxies. It approximates an initially low pressure gas of particles that interact only with gravity, but we know little more than that. Searches for detection thus must follow many difficult paths to a great discovery, what the universe is made of. The nonbaryonic picture grew out of a convergence of evidence and ideas in the early 1980s. Developments two decades later considerably improved the evidence, and advances since then have made the case for nonbaryonic dark matter compelling.