Dark-matter candidate could display stringy effects in the lab

-Calculations show how theoretical ‘axionic strings’ could create odd behavior if produced in exotic materials in the lab-

A hypothetical particle that could solve one of the biggest puzzles in cosmology just got a little less mysterious. A RIKEN physicist and two colleagues have revealed the mathematical underpinnings that could explain how so-called axions might generate string-like entities that create a strange voltage in lab materials[1].