Astronomers believe that observing fast radio bursts and determining their sources can be used to search for “missing” matter in intergalactic space. Current methods for estimating the mass of the universe give conflicting values and challenge the standard model of cosmology.
“If we calculate the amount of ordinary matter in the Universe, we find that more than half of its expected amount is missing. We think the missing matter is hiding in the space between galaxies, but it may simply be so hot and diffuse that it cannot be seen by conventional methods. Fast radio bursts pick up this ionised material. Even in almost completely empty space, they can “see” all the electrons, and this allows us to measure how much matter is between galaxies,” the authors of the discovery explained.
