Does modern physics know everything about the fundamental forces of nature? Currently, the Standard Model describes four: electromagnetism, gravity, strong and weak nuclear forces. But since the 1980s, scientists have suspected the existence of a fifth, unknown force that could explain mysterious anomalies, particularly those related to dark matter and dark energy. For decades, scientists have been trying to discover the fifth fundamental force and have put forward various hypotheses regarding its existence.
One unusual method of searching involved carefully tracking the movement of asteroids. An international group of scientists has focused its attention on Bennu, one of the most dangerous and best-studied near-Earth asteroids. Its trajectory is known with extreme precision thanks to observations since 1999 and data from the OSIRIS-REx mission, which not only studied it but also took samples from its surface and brought them back to Earth.
The idea is simple: any unexpected change in Bennu’s trajectory, even a tiny one, could indicate the influence of this hypothetical fifth force, possibly related to dark matter. The results of the analysis, published in the journal Nature Communications Physics, have not yet found such evidence. However, the methodology is recognized as extremely promising.
The trajectories of objects often have anomalies that are useful for discovering new physics. Tracking Bennu could change our understanding of the fundamental principles of the Universe, explains Yu-Dai Tsai, lead author of the study. A historical example is the discovery of Neptune thanks to anomalies in Uranus’ orbit.
“These results highlight the potential of asteroid tracking as a valuable instrument in the search for dark matter and new physics beyond the Standard Model,” adds co-author Sunny Vagnozzi from the University of Trento.
Although Bennu did not discover the fifth force, the mission continues. The OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft (formerly OSIRIS-REx) is now heading for another asteroid, Apophis, which will fly very close to Earth in 2029. A detailed study of its trajectory promises to provide even more accurate data and, perhaps, finally capture traces of the unknown force that keep physicists around the world on edge. While Earth’s laboratories search for answers in the microworld, space travelers are becoming the key to unlocking the deepest mysteries of the Universe.
Earlier, we reported on the top five unsolved mysteries of modern physics.
According to popularmechanics.com
