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The Different Candidates for Dark Matter, with Katherine Freese

2026-03-24 Science & Technology
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T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet What are the main candidates for dark matter? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice sit down with theoretical physicist Katherine Freese to tackle fan questions about dark matter, dark energy, and the dark universe at large. The episode opens with Katherine’s work on the search for dark matter, exploring why scientists believe it's a particle and how enormous liquid xenon detectors are our main tool for detection. Katherine tells us about her paleodetector concept, where scientists will dig up ancient olivine crystals that may have spent a billion years passively collecting dark matter tracks. Could we find evidence of dark matter in the rocks here on Earth? We explore the DESI experiment and whether the acceleration of the universe's expansion is slowing down. Does the cosmological constant change over time? We discuss JWST’s images of early galaxies and what they could mean. Could varying dark energy require exotic new physics? Katie walks through how extra spatial dimensions from string theory could explain a shifting cosmological constant. Could our universe be a three-dimensional brane with the tension from surrounding dimensions tugging on our expansion rate? What are the main candidates for dark matter? Katie lays out the full roster of dark matter candidates: WIMPs, axions, and primordial black holes. Could dark energy be matter flowing in from a parent universe? How do scientists tell the difference between doppler redshift versus "tired light" scenarios where photons simply lose energy over distance. Why doesn’t dark matter clump into planets? Could there be dark galaxies formed from dark matter? Are we close to figuring out dark matter and dark energy? Thanks to our Patrons Yasin Hasbay, Joe Hudson, Marcelo Morales, Jeffrey C, Quentin Kelly, Mark Hobden, Shawnie Brisbois, Nathan Williams, Christian Etel, Adam, Andrew Foss, Christopher Lauer, Mike Smith, Gloria Goungo, Dennis Poggenburg, Wild Cat93, Tilly, Alon Gutman, Philip Sun, Dave Mulder, Neil Cameron, CuriousHairlessApe, Not Pensive, Thanh Ho, Aaron, Amy, Brandon Rhodes, Jeffrey Otterman, Space Hendrix, Mango, Yoni, Christopher, Cody Motycka, James Astley, Ryan Dimery-Seek, Alec Scott, Joshua Dobelstein, JP, D.K. Mola, Matt Sumner, Jordan Smith, Case Torres, Tiffany Jones, Josh Middleton, Christopher Crain, Abdul Sudi, Quyen Nguyen, Rahul Varma Sikinam, Nathaniel Gonzalez, Jonathan Negron, Adam Bauman, Sean McAll, Taylor, Lora White, CrunchySciFry, Robby Satterfield, James Simpson, Samantha Kasper, Isahn Mejia, Cameron Smith, Ray Nobleza, Mike Gibbs, Paul Stumbo, Ruben Wilberg, Anish Dube, Manolis Sensi, Arnab Deka, Rich, 4d916, Oon Thian Seng, Temo Chavchanidze, Vikas Rawat, Korin, Gene Hannon, Edward Marwood, Catherine Fiala, Matt F, Elijah Flippin, Bharath Kumar, Tuyaa, Furry Combat Wombat, Lexi Chivers, Vincent Franchino, R Tillery, Matthew Pitts, GAME MASTER, Lawrey, Chris Fro, Adam, Diesel Haphazard, Anthony Calomeni, Mike G., Victor Acevedo, David Wall, Jaime Rivera, Reginald Hill, Devin Jansen, Tushar Vashisht, Lisa Mc Guire, and Ian for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Katherine Freese 06:11 - How Paleodetectors Might Help Find Dark Matter 10:19 - How Do You Know Which Rock to Get? 15:42 - Is Dark Energy Changing Over Time? 19:40 - Modifying Einstein’s Equations 24:20 - How Do Dark Stars Work? 29:27 - Dark Matter & Curvature of Spacetime 34:45 - Candidates for Dark Matter 39:52 - Dark Energy As Flow From Black Hole Parent Universe 42:54 - Where to Attribute Redshifting 46:45 - Are There Dark Matter Galaxies? Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

Top Comments (10)

@SmallestWhite 2026-03-24

This channel is a beacon of humanity in a world gone mad. Love is universal, war is 💩

116 5 replies
@charliebluee738 2026-03-24

Lol chuck casually Talkin bout trippin hard af😂

83 6 replies
@Ilovepasta18 2026-03-24

I want all three to be my best friends

74
@StarTalk 2026-03-24

If scientists find dark matter tomorrow, what would you hope it turns out to be?

65 144 replies
@ONEYEDPiRAT 2026-03-24

Chuck represents all of us who can't answer them also Makes him a perfect candidate to pick the questions

39 2 replies
@Silvia6 2026-03-24

Congrats on over 5.5M StarTalk 🎉 6M is just around the corner! ✨

32 2 replies
@jobhoevenaars7298 2026-03-24

this video couldnt have come at a better time. i gotta do chores and StarTalk always gets me through it!

24 4 replies
@VideogamesAndExistentialism 2026-03-24

Finally! I waited for this topic for a long time, thanks for the vid!

14
@zwerko 2026-03-25

00:29 - I thought Chuck was Niel's dark matter friend...

6
@Cam-yu8wy 2026-03-24

Kat, Janna and the two Brian's - come on, give us a StarTalk roundtable special and let them dive into some of the most interesting topics in their fields. Thery're all great science communicators so they know how to discuss in a way that allows the audience to keep up

4

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