# Is dark matter fact or fantasy? -- clues from the data

## TL;DR

This paper questions the existence of dark matter by analyzing galactic rotation data, suggesting that observed effects may be due to the influence of the entire visible universe rather than unseen matter.

## Contribution

It proposes that galactic rotation curves are better explained by global effects of visible matter, challenging the dark matter paradigm and offering a new perspective on cosmic mass distribution.

## Key findings

- Galactic rotation curves correlate with luminous matter, not dark matter.
- A contribution from the rest of the visible universe influences galactic dynamics.
- Dark matter may be an artifact of trying to explain global effects with local gravity.

## Abstract

We discuss arguments both in favor of and against dark matter. With the repeated failure of experiment to date to detect dark matter we discuss what could be done instead, and to this end look for clues in the data themselves. We identify various regularities in galactic rotation curve data that correlate the total gravitational potential with luminous matter rather than dark matter. We identify a contribution to galactic rotation curves coming from the rest of the visible Universe, and suggest that dark matter is just an attempt to describe this global effect in terms of standard local Newtonian gravity within galaxies. Thus the missing mass is not missing at all -- it has been hiding in plain sight all along as the rest of the visible mass in the Universe.