Gravitational waves may have created dark matter in the early universe

A new study suggests gravitational waves may have created dark matter shortly after the Big Bang. Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz propose that ancient background gravitational waves converted into massless fermions — particles like electrons and protons — which later gained mass and became dark matter. This newly identified process could help explain what makes up the roughly 23 percent of the universe that remains invisible and undetected.