One proposed way of examining if such a force could exist is by closely monitoring asteroid trajectories, and few near-Earth asteroids are as well observed as Bennu. A new study by an international team of scientists analyzes Bennu to try and placing constraints on a possible fifth fundamental force in the search of ultralight dark matter.

Bennu, one of the most dangerous near-Earth objects, has been meticulously tracked by optical and radar astrometric data since it was discovered in 1999. As the destination for the OSIRIS-REx asteroid retrieval mission, additional X-band radiometric and optical navigation tracking data added even more trajectory precision. The idea is that any deviation in the expected trajectory of the asteroid could be the result of an unknown fifth force at work. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications Physics.

Physicists finally know whether black holes destroy the information contained in infalling matter. The problem is that the answer hasn’t lit the way to a new understanding of space-time.

All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike – and yet it is the most precious thing we have. – Albert Einstein (1879−1955)

Astronomers have observed light bending around a black hole, a phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. By studying X-rays from a black hole in the Zwicky 1 galaxy, scientists detected unexpected “light echoes” coming from behind the black hole, proving that the black hole’s gravity was curving space-time and allowing light to bend around it.

Although this effect was predicted over a century ago, it’s the first time astronomers have witnessed it. The researchers now aim to investigate how black hole coronas produce intense X-ray flares and continue studying space-time distortion.

A recent study in Physical Review Letters explores the effects of ultralight dark matter in extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs), which could be detected by future space-based gravitational wave detectors like LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna).

Graviton to photon conversion via parametric resonance https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212686423000365z

In a groundbreaking discovery, physicists have found that gravity can create light under certain conditions, opening up new avenues of research in astrophysics and cosmology.

Our very own Milky Way could host a huge bridge in space-time. At least, that’s what the authors of a recent study have suggested. According to the group, teamwork between Indian, Italian, North American scientists and scientists from other countries at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Italy.

The central disk of Milky Way may host the necessary dark matter to support the formation and nourishment of a “stable and controllable” tunnel to a distant section of space-time –known as a wormhole. The group’s study was issued in the November 2014 issue of Annals of Physics. A pre-print of this research paper is also available at arxiv.org.

Wormholes (also known as Einstein-Rosen Bridge) were first theorized by Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen in 1935. Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen suggested their idea as a way to get around the notion of black hole singularities.