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This James Webb Space Telescope discovery might blow your mind Quantum Physics Scientists claim to find 'first observational evidence supporting string theory,' which could finally reveal the nature of dark energy Black Holes Facing steep funding cuts, scientists propose using black holes as particle colliders instead of building new ones on Earth Ben Turner 3 June 2025 New calculations have revealed that the super-energetic jets produced by spinning black holes could be a source for elusive dark matter particles. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. An artist's concept of a supermassive black hole with a jet streaming outward at nearly the speed of light. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) In the face of eye-watering costs, long construction times and the Trump administration's slashing of federal science funding, physicists have proposed a cheaper alternative to the next-generation of particle supercolliders — peering into black holes. Scientists initially hoped that the elusive particles that make up dark matter would be spat out by high-energy proton collisions inside CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), yet so far no such detection has been made. Finding dark matter, therefore, could mean waiting decades until new, higher energy, supercolliders are built. You may like The world's largest atom smasher is getting a powerful new upgrade Evidence for Stephen Hawking's unproven black hole theory may have just been found — at the bottom of the sea Scientists discover most powerful particle collider in the universe Or perhaps not, according to one group of researchers. Publishing their findings June 3 in the journal Physical Review Letters, they suggest that the answers we're looking for could be in violent collisions inside the fast-moving accretion disks that surround enormous black holes. "One of the great hopes for particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider is that it will generate dark matter particles, but we haven't seen any evidence yet," study co-author Joseph Silk, an astrophysics professor at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Oxford, U.K. said in a statement. "That's why there are discussions underway to build a much more powerful version, a next-generation supercollider. But as we invest $30 billion and wait 40 years to build this supercollider — nature may provide a glimpse of the future in super massive black holes." Particle colliders work by smashing particles into each other at near-light-speeds, creating interactions from which the most fundamental elements of the universe briefly emerge as high-energy debris. It's from these collisions that the LHC discovered the Higg's Boson in 2012, the elusive particle that gives all others their mass. Related: World's largest atom smasher turned lead into gold — and then destroyed it in an instant Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. But despite this discovery and many others (alongside key contributions to the development of the internet, computing and some cancer therapies) the LHC has yet to produce dark matter, possibly because it is incapable of reaching the energies required to produce its particles. One of the universe's most mysterious components, dark matter makes up roughly 27% of our cosmos's missing content. But it doesn't interact with light, so it has yet to be directly detected. This means that despite countless observations of the ways it shapes our universe, scientists are still unsure of where dark matter comes from, or even what it is. Seeking a new source of dark matter particles, the researchers behind the new study looked to black holes. Observations by space telescopes have revealed that rapidly spinning black holes can launch massive jets of plasma from the accretion disks of hot matter that surround them. And according to the researchers' calculations, these jets could be far more powerful than first thought — enabling particles to collide at similar energy levels as those projected for future supercolliders. "Some particles from these collisions go down the throat of the black hole and disappear forever," Silk said. "But because of their energy and momentum, some also come out, and it's those that come out which are accelerated to unprecedentedly high energies." Silk's team calculated that the energy produced by black hole jets could be "as powerful as you get from a supercollider, or more," adding that "it's very hard to say what the limit is." RELATED STORIES —'Beauty' particle discovered at world's largest atom smasher could unlock new physics —Black holes can destroy planets — but they can also lead us to thriving alien worlds. Here's how. —10 mind-blowing black hole discoveries from 2024 To detect the particles zipping from black hole collisions, the researchers propose tracking them with observatories designed to study supernovae, such as the South Pole's IceCube Neutrino Observatory or the Kilometer Cube Neutrino Telescope. "If supermassive black holes can generate these particles by high-energy proton collisions, then we might get a signal on Earth, some really high-energy particle passing rapidly through our detectors," Silk said. "That would be the evidence for a novel particle collider within the most mysterious objects in the universe, attaining energies that would be unattainable in any terrestrial accelerator. We'd see something with a strange signature that conceivably provides evidence for dark matter, which is a bit more of a leap but it's possible." Social Links Navigation Senior Staff Writer Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. The world's largest atom smasher is getting a powerful new upgrade Evidence for Stephen Hawking's unproven black hole theory may have just been found — at the bottom of the sea Scientists discover most powerful particle collider in the universe Black holes may obey the laws of physics after all, new theory suggests Stephen Hawking's black hole theory has big implications for the shape of the universe, new study claims Is our universe trapped inside a black hole? This James Webb Space Telescope discovery might blow your mind Latest in Black Holes James Webb telescope uncovers new, 'hidden' type of black hole never seen before Astronomers discover black hole ripping a star apart inside a galactic collision. 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