Bertone, who is a member of the UvA research priority area  Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam (GRAPPA) and associate professor at the UvA's Institute of Physics, is a world-leading expert on dark matter. His book elucidates the current state of affairs of research into the nature of this elusive type of matter to the general reader with an interest in science. It was published on 10 October by Oxford University Press. The book launch in the academic-cultural center SPUI25, moderated by Volkskrant newspaper's science journalist Martijn van Calmthout, attracted some 100 people and filled up the venue.

During the event, the author presented a copy of his book to Van den Boom. In a short address, she expressed her enthusiasm for the topic of the book, which coincides with the University’s successful research priority area GRAPPA (Gravitation & AstroParticle Physics Amsterdam).

Dark Matter

Pioneering astronomers in the 1920s and 1930s noticed suspicious anomalies in the motion of celestial bodies in distant galaxies and clusters of galaxies. However, it wasn’t until the late 20th century that the scientific community was confronted with an astonishing conclusion: the universe is filled with an unknown, elusive substance that is fundamentally different from anything we have ever seen. This  substance,  called dark matter, constitutes one of the most pressing challenges of modern science.

Bertone’s book illustrates the implications of this discovery. In fact, nowadays, there is a worldwide race to identify the nature of this mysterious form of matter. Mankind may be just about to witness a pivotal paradigm shift in physics, as we set out to test the existence of dark matter particles.