tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post4079362050543361396..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: Can dark matter cause cancer? Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-72826460908097749492015-09-23T10:52:30.531-04:002015-09-23T10:52:30.531-04:00Xenon100, LUX, ZEPLIN-III, PANDA-X, DEAP, ArDM, WA...Xenon100, LUX, ZEPLIN-III, PANDA-X, DEAP, ArDM, WARP, DarkSide; CDMS, CRESST, EDELWEISS, EURECA; SIMPLE, PICASSO saw nothing. Fermi-LAT, DAMA/NaI, DAMA/LIBRA, CRESST saw near nothing, then otherwise explained. People are not better collision detectors.<br /> <br /><i>If you fabricate your initial conditions smartly enough, you can make pretty much any model fit the data. </i> Test the obvious Uncle Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05056804084187606211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-80879507922231722015-09-23T07:57:22.428-04:002015-09-23T07:57:22.428-04:00Phillip,
Yes, I agree with you. The terminology i...Phillip,<br /><br />Yes, I agree with you. The terminology is somewhat misleading, but I don't think it's too terrible. Now consider instead the case of 'dark stars' that are actually bright... Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-5513170939424909772015-09-23T07:28:44.439-04:002015-09-23T07:28:44.439-04:00Right, which is my point. People read about WIMPs...Right, which is my point. People read about WIMPs, and figure out that the W is for "weakly" in the context of the weak nuclear force. But "weakly interacting dark matter" doesn't necessary refer to the weak interaction.<br /><br />"Dark matter" is also not really clear enough (pun, as always, intended); "transparent matter" would be a better term forPhillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-61508201217423764162015-09-23T06:46:31.235-04:002015-09-23T06:46:31.235-04:00Phillip,
In the sentence you quote it's a gen...Phillip,<br /><br />In the sentence you quote it's a generic term. In WIMP it refers to a weak interaction, in the sense of a small coupling constant, normally it's *the* weak interaction, but presumably it could be some other interaction. The reason it's a generic term here is (as I alluded to in the recent post about macro dark matter) that there are other ways to get a weak Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-37055187559600421132015-09-23T05:38:05.229-04:002015-09-23T05:38:05.229-04:00"Tl;dr: Yes. But it’s exceedingly unlikely.&q...<i>"Tl;dr: Yes. But it’s exceedingly unlikely."</i><br /><br />Iron-Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson blames his (recently treated and presumably cured) throat cancer on oral sex. No-one should get cancer, but if one has to get it, this is probably the best way. <b>:-)</b><br />Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-16451712996836779252015-09-23T05:36:15.026-04:002015-09-23T05:36:15.026-04:00"dark matter must be weakly interacting with ...<i>"dark matter must be weakly interacting with itself"</i><br /><br />I think that there is some confusion when dark matter in the form of WIMPs is discussed in the popular literature. Does "weakly" refer to the weak nuclear force, or is it just a generic term?<br />Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-34172239836520284922015-09-23T05:05:37.418-04:002015-09-23T05:05:37.418-04:00The universe, and the things that make it up influ...The universe, and the things that make it up influence us. Dark matter might, but much more likely, high energy cosmic rays, cause genetic mutation. Sometimes this results in cancer. But sometimes this results in a genetic advance. This is a part of what we call evolution. As a scientist, to bring up the "C" word in this context is ultimately a means of self promotion and public Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04714632239717475612noreply@blogger.com