SEASONAL variations in the number of particles colliding with the Earth
strongly suggest that WIMPs exist, say Italian researchers. WIMPs, otherwise
known as weakly interacting massive particles, may be the dark matter that many
astronomers believe makes up 90 per cent of the mass of the Universe.
Last month, at a meeting on dark matter at Marina del Rey in California, the
team said that three years of observation have confirmed its initial claim to
have discovered WIMP-like signals
(Â鶹´«Ã½,16 January 1999, p 24).
But American researchers still remain unconvinced.
Since 1997 a Chinese-Italian team has been…
