On Wed, 18 Apr 2001, "Jeff" wrote:


> if dark matter and dark energy exist  does it imply that dark light
> exists ref e=mc2?


	Sort of, actually.  Here is the story.  Dark Matter is expected
by many to be formed from particles which are not currently part of
the Standard Model of particle physics.  Many physicists believe that
there are other particles out there which have not been discovered.
In fact, according to the popular theory of Super Symmetry (SUSY),
each particle that we know of now would have a partner in this yet-
undiscovered particle realm.
	The particles in this SUSY particle family are not like
anti-matter or mirror-matter.  They are just other particles.
But, to get to your question, even the photon would have a partner
in this SUSY realm called the "photino".  It is not made of
dark energy and is not otherwise exotic except for some different
particle properties.
	So, yes, if we find dark matter, we expect there also to
be light particles in the same new particle family, but they
would not have strange anti-properties.

> does dark light travel faster than light---thats why we cant see it?
> on the basis that anything travelling faster than light must by
> definition be invisible or beyond our reality?

Neat idea, but no.


> dark matter seems to have gravitational influence...thus does it bend
> light? it must be see-through?

	It is "see-through" in that light does not interact with it
directly (except very, very weakly).  But, you are correct, it does
bend light by its gravity.

> before the big bang did the universe consist of entirely dark
> energy/matter?

Before the Big Bang is a tough question.  But, in general, 
dark matter particles (if they are discovered) would probably
be like all other particles.  They would have existed in the
primordial soup of particles in the unbelievably hot and
dense early universe.


Michael Scott Armel
Center for Particle Astrophysics