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Dear Ben Dribus,
It has been shown by Geha et al. ApJ 711, 361 (2010) that there is no need of dark matter for explaining the dynamical properties of the ELLIPTICAL galaxy NGC 147, and as I show in the essay, dark matter does not exist in spiral galaxies. Therefore, we conclude that it simply does not exist.I think the galactic lensing has to be explained by other means.
I show you below that there is no place for dark matter in Particle Physics.
Before you read, remember that dark matter would have to be STABLE, and composed of particles with zero charge because dark matter would not interact with light.
Particles are either bosons or fermions. As it is well known bosons do not clump together simply because they make the mediation between fermionic states. Therefore, where there are bosons (confined to some volume) there also are fermions. For example, there is no body made of pions or W´s. And to make things worse all bosons are unstable, except the photon and the hypothetical graviton. Therefore, dark matter would have to be composed of fermions, but from these we have to take out baryons because they interact with light. Thus, we are left with leptons, supposedly the WIMPS. And now we face a long list of drawbacks. First of all, only the light leptons electon, positron and the neutrinos are stable, that is, the heavier leptons suffer weak decays. Secondly, leptons with mass are charged, but dark matter had to be neutral but without being composed of oppositely charged leptons because in such a case it would interact with light. Leptons are arranged in the generations: the electron and its neutrino, the muon and its neutrino and the tau and its neutrino (and their corresponding antiparticles). Where would the WIMP fit in? As you see it does not fit in.
Therefore, THERE IS NO PLACE FOR DARK MATTER IN PARTICLE PHYSICS. DARK MATTER IS JUST A KING OF NEW ETHER.
Best regards,
Mario