Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Review Article
  • Published:

The end of cold dark matter?

Abstract

The successful cold dark matter (CDM) theory for the formation of structure in the Universe has suffered recent setbacks from observational evidence suggesting that there is more large-scale structure than it can explain. This may force a fundamental revision or even abandonment of the theory, or may simply reflect a modulation of the galaxy distribution by processes associated with galaxy formation. Better understanding of galaxy formation is needed before the demise of CDM is declared.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Saunders, W. et al. Nature 349, 32–38 (1991).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Carr, B. J. Comments Astrophys. 14, 257–280 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Turner, M. S. Phys. Scripta T36, 167–182 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Harrison, E. R. Phys. Rev. D1, 2726–2730 (1970).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Zel'dovich, Ya. B. Astr. Astrophys 5, 84–89 (1970).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Guth, A. H. Phys. Rev. D23, 347–356 (1981).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Linde, D. Phys. Lett. B108, 389–393 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Albrecht, A. & Steinhart, P. Phys. Rev. Lett. 48, 1220–1223 (1982).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Guth, A. & Pi, S. Y. Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 1110–1113 (1982).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hawking, S. Phys. Lett. B115, 295–297 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Starobinskii, A. Phys. Lett. B117, 175–178 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bardeen, J. M., Steinhardt, P. J. & Turner, M. S. Phys. Rev. D28, 679–693 (1983).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Colless, M. M. & Hewett, P. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 224, 453–472 (1987).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Zabludoff, A. I., Huchra, J. R. & Geller, M. J. Astrophys. J. Suppl. 74, 1–36 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Olive, K. A., Schramm, D. N., Steigman, G. & Walker, T. P. Phys. Lett. B236, 454–460 (1990).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Silk, J. Astrophys. J. 151, 459–472 (1968).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Zel'dovich, Ya. B. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 160, 1P–4P (1972).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Wilson, M. L. & Silk, J. Astrophys. J. 243, 14–25 (1981).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Lyubimov, V. A., Novikov, E. G., Nozik, V. Z., Tretyakov, E. F. & Kozik, V. F. Phys. Lett. B94, 266–268 (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  20. White, S. D. M., Frenk, C. S. & Davis, M. Astrophys. J. 274, L1–L5 (1983).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Peebles, P. J. E. Astrophys. J. 263, L1–L6 (1982).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Peebles, P. J. E. The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe (Princeton University Press, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Mather, J. et al. Astrophys. J. 354, L37–L40 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Ostriker, J. P. & Cowie, L. Astrophys. J. 243, L127–L132 (1981).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Ostriker, J. P., Thompson, C. & Witten, E. Phys. Lett. B180, 231–239 (1986).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Yahil, A. in Large-scale Motions in the Universe (eds Rubin, V. C. & Coyne, G. V.) 219–253 (Princeton University Press, 1988).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Blumenthal, G. R., Faber, S. M., Primack, J. R. & Rees, M. J. Nature 311, 517–525 (1984).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Frenk, C. S. Phys. Scripta T36, 70–87 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  29. White, S. D. M. & Rees, M. J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 183, 341–358 (1978).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. Katz, N. & Gunn, J. E. Astrophys. J. 377, 365–381 (1991).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. Evrard, A. E. Astrophys. J. 363, 349–366 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Davis, M., Efstathiou, G., Frenk, C. S. & White, S. D. M. Astrophys. J. 292, 371–394 (1985).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Bardeen, J. M., Bond, J. R., Kaisier, N. & Szalay, A. S. Astrophys. J. 304, 15–61 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. White, S. D. M., Davis, M., Efstathiou, G. & Frenk, C. S. Nature 330, 451–454 (1987).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Carlberg, R. G., Couchman, H. M. P. & Thomas, P. Astrophys. J. 352, L29 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Bertschinger, E. & Gelb, J. M. Computers Phys. 5, 164–179 (1991).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. Gott, J. R., Melott, A. L. & Dickinson, M. Astrophys. J. 306, 341–357 (1986).

    ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  38. Frenk, C. S., White, S. D. M., Efstathiou, G. & Davis, M. Astrophys. J. 351, 10–21 (1990).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Kirshner, R. P., Oemler, A., Schechter, P. L. & Shectman, S. A. Astrophys. J. 248, L57–L60 (1981).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. White, S. D. M., Frenk, C. S., Davis, M. & Efstathiou, G. Astrophys. J. 313, 505–516 (1987).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Geller, M. & Huchra, J. Science 246, 897–903 (1989).

    ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Park, C. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 242, 59P–61P (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. Maddox, S. J., Efstathiou, G., Sutherland, W. & Loveday, J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 242, 43P–47P (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  44. Efstathiou, G. et al. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 247, 10P–14P (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  45. Bahcall, N. & Soneira, R. Astrophys. J. 270, 20–38 (1983).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  46. Peacock, J. A. & Nicholson, D. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 253, 307–315 (1991).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  47. Efstathiou, G., Dalton, G. B., Sutherland, W. & Maddox, S. J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. (in the press).

  48. Dalton, J., Efstathiou, G., Sutherland, W. & Maddox, S. J. Astrophys. J. (in the press).

  49. Dressler, A. Nature 350, 391–397 (1991).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  50. Dekel, A., Bertschinger, E. & Faber, S. M. Astrophys. J. 364, 349–369 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  51. Bertschinger, E., Dekel, A. & Faber, S. M., Dressler, A. & Burstein, D. Astrophys. J. 364, 370–395 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. Groth, J. E., Juszkiewicz, R. & Ostriker, J. P. Astrophys. J. 346, 558–565 (1989).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. Kaiser, N. & Lahav, O. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 237, 129–162 (1989).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  54. Gorski, K., Davis, M., Strauss, M. A., White, S. D. M. & Yahil, A. Astrophys. J. 344, 1–19 (1989).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  55. Rowan-Robinson, M. in Observational Tests of Cosmological Inflation (eds Shanks, T., Banday, A. J., Ellis, R. S., Frenk, C. S. & Wolfendale, A. W.) 161–171 (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1991).

    Google Scholar 

  56. Bond, J. R. & Efstathiou, G. Astrophys. J. 285, L45–L48 (1984).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Vittorio, N. & Silk, J. Astrophys. J. 285, L39–L44 (1984).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Peebles, P. J. E. Astrophys. J. 284, 439–444 (1984).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Efstathiou, G., Sutherland, W. & Maddox, S. J. Nature 348, 705–707 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  60. Jacoby, G. H., Ciardullo, R. & Ford, H. C. Astrophys. J. 356, 332–349 (1990).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Tonry, J. L. Astrophys. J. 373, L1–L4 (1991).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  62. Weinberg, S. Rev. mod. Phys. 61, 1–23 (1989).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Simpson, J. J. Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 1891–1893 (1985).

    ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Hime, A. & Jelley, N. A. Phys. Lett. B257, 441–450 (1991).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  65. Bond, J. R. & Efstathiou, G. Phys. Lett. B265, 245–250 (1991).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Salopek, D. S., Bond, J. R. & Bardeen, J. M. Phys. Rev. D40, 1753–1788 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  67. Albrecht, A. & Stebbins, A. Fermilab Preprint No. 91/17A (1991).

  68. Turok, N. Phys. Scripta T36, 135–141 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  69. Babul, A. & White, S. D. M. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 253, 31P–34P (1991).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Bower, R. G., Coles, P., Frenk, C. S. & White, S. D. M. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. (submitted).

  71. Smoot, G. et al. Astrophys. J. 371, L1–L6 (1991).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  72. Bond, J. R., Efstathiou, G., Lubin, P. M. & Meinhold, P. R. Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 2179–2182 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  73. Vittorio, N., Meinhold, P., Muciaccia, P. F., Lubin, P. & Silk, J. Astrophys. J. 372, L1–L4 (1991).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  74. Miralda-Escude, J. Astrophys. J. 380, 1–8 (1991).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. White, S. D. M. & Frenk, C. S. Astrophys. J. 379, 52–79 (1991).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  76. Peebles, P. J. E. in The Epoch of Galaxy Formation (eds Frenk, C. S. et al.) 1–13 {Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  77. The Epoch of Galaxy Formation (eds Frenk, C. S. et al.) (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1989).

  78. Cowie, L. L. Phys. Scripta T36, 102–107 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  79. Efstathiou, G. & Rees, M. J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 230, 5P–12P (1988).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  80. Butcher, H. & Oemler, A. Astrophys. J. 219, 18–30 (1978).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  81. Dressler, A. & Gunn, J. E. in Evolution of the Universe of Galaxies (ed. Kron, R. G.) Astr. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 10, 200–208 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  82. Edge, A. C., Stewart, G. C., Fabian, A. C. & Arnaud, K. A. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 245, 559–569 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  83. Gioia, I. M. et al. Astrophys. J. Suppl 72, 567–619 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  84. Evrard, A. E. & Henry, J. P. Astrophys. J. 383, 95–103 (1991).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  85. Ostriker, J. P. in Evolution of the Universe of Galaxies (ed. Kron, R. G.) Astr. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 10, 25–29 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  86. Ellis, J. Phys. Scripta T36, 145–152 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  87. Hagmann, C., Sikivie, P., Sullivan, N. S. & Tanner, D. B. Phys. Rev. D42, 1297–1300 (1990).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  88. Smith, P. F. & Lewin, J. B. Phys. Rep. 187, 203–280 (1990).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  89. Primack, J. R., Seckel, D. & Sadoulet, B. Ann. Rev. Nucl. Sci. 38, 751–778 (1988).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Davis, M., Efstathiou, G., Frenk, C. et al. The end of cold dark matter?. Nature 356, 489–494 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/356489a0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/356489a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing