The dark matter in space could originate from black holes: a study tries to prove Stephen Hawking's theory about one of the biggest mysteries in the universe

Dark matter is one of the greatest mysteries in science. It is estimated that it accounts for around 80% of the matter that makes up the universe and yet almost nothing is known about it.

One of the reasons is that, due to its composition, it does not absorb or emit any type of electromagnetic radiation and therefore cannot be seen. The only way to know it's there is by its gravitational effect on its surrounding space.

In practice, and although it is not known what it is, it serves to explain why the universe is so heavy if we can only see 20% of it. Strength measurements of gravitational effects suggest that there is some kind of mass that we cannot directly observe.

Curling the loop, knowing where that dark matter comes from is an answer that intrigues scientists. A new study aims to elevate the theory proposed by Stephen Hawking and Bernard Carr in 1970, according to Science Alert.

The study carried out by astrophysicists from the University of Miami, Yale University (United States) and the European Space Agency (ESA) suggests that black holes have existed since the beginning of the universe and that these primordial black holes they could be the hitherto unexplained dark matter.

"Our study predicts what the early universe would look like if, instead of unknown particles, the dark matter was made up of black holes formed during the Big Bang, as Stephen Hawking suggested," said physicist Nico Cappelluti of the University of Miami in publication of The Astrophysical Journal.

Planet 9, an object on the edge of the universe that no one has been able to observe: planet, alien impostor or primordial black hole?

These primordial black holes would explain the current existence of supermassive black holes found in the center of galaxies like ours.

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"Primordial black holes, if they exist, could well be the seeds from which all black holes are formed, including the one at the center of the Milky Way," said Priyamvada Natarajan of Yale University.

ESA's Euclid mission, which will explore the dark universe in more detail than ever before, could play an important role in the search for primordial black holes as dark matter candidates.

The forthcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to shed more light on what the universe is and how it was formed.

The telescope is a project of NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency that has the capacity to observe the cosmos 13,000 million years ago.

"If the first stars and galaxies already formed in the so-called 'dark ages,' Webb should be able to see evidence of them," added astronomer Günther Hasinger of the European Space Agency.