1d:I[2890,["266","static/chunks/870fdd6f-4fcc92c129a57d11.js","970","static/chunks/970-91a3a37cc668faba.js","857","static/chunks/857-3b2a1421afa266d2.js","965","static/chunks/app/podcasts/episode/%5BpodcastEpisodeGuid%5D/page-e939c6b91b4a25d4.js"],"default"] 1e:I[1318,["266","static/chunks/870fdd6f-4fcc92c129a57d11.js","970","static/chunks/970-91a3a37cc668faba.js","857","static/chunks/857-3b2a1421afa266d2.js","965","static/chunks/app/podcasts/episode/%5BpodcastEpisodeGuid%5D/page-e939c6b91b4a25d4.js"],"default"] 1f:T55d,Physics has a bit of a messy problem: There's matter missing in our universe. Something is there that we can't see but can detect! What could this mysterious substance be? A lot of astronomers are searching for the answer. And some, like theoretical particle physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, think a hypothetical particle called the axion may make this problem a little ... tidier.

That's right: hypothetical. Scientists have never seen one, and don't know if they exist. So today, we point our cosmic magnifying glasses towards the axion and ask how scientists could find one — and if it could be the neat solution physicists have been searching for.

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Episode description

Could This Particle 'Clean Up' A Cosmic Mystery?

Episode description