Mysterious Transients in the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS-1) as profound manifestation of the Dark Matter physics

The paper proposes that Mysterious Transient (MT) events, which are short-lived, star-like objects identified in the first Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS-1) as part of the Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) project, are a manifestation of dark matter (DM) in the form of axion quark nuggets (AQNs). The AQN model posits that DM consists of macroscopically large composite objects made of standard model quarks (or antiquarks) and gluons, similar to Witten's strangelets. The paper argues that the MT events are a cousin of Ball Lightning (BL) events, both being explained by the same AQN framework.

The core proposal is formalized as:

spallation of AQN (short lasting “flash”) ≡ Mysterious Transient event. (Section IV)

The paper systematically addresses the five observed features of MT events listed in the introduction:

1. Nature and Source of Energy: The energy for MT events comes from the annihilation of antimatter AQNs with surrounding material. The total energy released at the moment of spallation is estimated as:

total EMT ∼ BAQNs (∆E) ≈ (102 − 103)J, ∆E ≈ (Equark − Enuclear) ≈ (1 − 10)MeV (Section IV A). The observed optical energy is a tiny fraction (10−5 or less) of this total, with the rest emitted as axions, neutrinos, X-rays, and heat.

2. Spatial and Temporal Scales: The spallation process is extremely short (fraction of a microsecond), producing a point-like flash. The observed size in optical bands is determined by the mean free path of X-rays in the atmosphere, which is on the order of 10 cm. The paper states: "the observed image of the MT event recorded by POSS-1 will be mostly spherical and point-like (with possible mild elongation of order ∆L) as the observed size of MT event in optical bands is determined by mean free path of X rays in atmosphere similar to analysis of the BL events." (Section IV B).

3. Alignment within a Single Exposure: The observed alignment of multiple MT events is explained by a single parent AQN undergoing multiple spallation events along its trajectory. The paper argues: a very massive parent AQN does not change much momentum after spallation, and its motion continues along the same trajectory, which we identify with a line of alignment of multiple MT events. This naturally leads to a non-Poissonian distribution of events, which should be treated as clusters. (Section IV C).

4. Correlation with Nuclear Testing: The strong correlation between MT events and nuclear testing is explained by the high level of atmospheric ionization caused by nuclear tests. This ionization dramatically increases the likelihood of the spallation process, similar to how thunderstorms (which also cause high ionization) are correlated with BL events. The paper states: "the ionization of the atmosphere after nuclear testing is well established phenomenon, similar to high ionization of the atmosphere during the thunderstorms. In both cases it leads to dramatic increase of the likelihood of the spallation, which is identified with MT event according to proposal (11)." (Section IV D).

5. Correlation with UAP Reports: The paper links MT events to a specific class of UAP events, which are identified with the secondary AQNs (AQNs) propagating in the atmosphere after spallation. These objects, if sufficiently large, can hit the ground, heating and melting the surrounding area without leaving meteoritic remnants. This is consistent with observations of green fireballs and pseudo-meteorite events. (Section IV E).

The paper also estimates the MT event rate, finding it consistent with observations. The estimate is based on the DM flux and the AQN model parameters:

N MT ∼ (N AQN · F MT) ∼ 80 events for F MT ∼ (2 · 124)/2718 ≈ 0.092 (Section V). This is considered consistent with the 83 multiple aligned MT events reported in the literature.

The paper concludes by suggesting several tests to substantiate or refute the proposal, including searching for infrasound acoustic signals using Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), installing all-sky cameras to monitor for correlated events, and using the LHC as a large broadband acoustic detector for AQNs, as they are also proposed to cause Unidentified Falling Objects (UFOs) in the LHC beam pipe.

Based on the paper, here are specific improvements to AI systems and what the improved systems can do:

1. Multi-Modal Anomaly Detection with Physical Prior Integration

Improvement: Enhance AI vision models to detect and classify transient optical events by embedding physical constraints (e.g., expected energy budget, spatial point-spread function, temporal duration) as prior knowledge, rather than relying solely on pixel patterns.

Capability: An AI system can automatically scan historical photographic plates (like POSS-1) or modern all-sky surveys to flag candidate MT events with high precision, filtering out cosmic rays, satellites, or plate defects by cross-referencing predicted energy release (102–103 J) and size (10 cm mean free path) against observed flux.

2. Clustered Event Association via Trajectory Modeling

Improvement: Implement a Bayesian clustering algorithm that treats multiple transient detections as potential fragments of a single parent AQN trajectory, using momentum conservation and spallation timing to link events into non-Poissonian clusters.

Capability: An AI system can reconstruct the path of a parent dark matter object from multiple aligned flashes within a single exposure, enabling prediction of future spallation locations and distinguishing true MT clusters from random coincidences.

3. Cross-Domain Correlation Engine (Nuclear Tests, Thunderstorms, UAPs)

Improvement: Build a multi-source data fusion AI that ingests historical nuclear test timelines, meteorological ionization data (e.g., lightning density), and UAP sighting reports to learn causal or correlational patterns, using the AQN model as a generative hypothesis.

Capability: The system can predict periods of elevated MT activity based on atmospheric ionization levels, and retroactively explain historical anomalies (e.g., 1950s green fireballs) by linking them to nuclear test epochs, improving situational awareness for defense or scientific monitoring.

4. Physics-Constrained Energy Budget Estimator

Improvement: Develop a regression model that, given an observed optical flash magnitude and duration, infers the total spallation energy (E MT) and the mass/velocity of the parent AQN, using the paper’s relation E MT ≈ B AQN·(1–10 MeV) and the 10−5 optical fraction.

Capability: An AI can estimate dark matter particle properties (e.g., axion mass, quark nugget size) from archival optical data alone, providing a new observational probe for DM models without requiring direct particle detection.

5. Acoustic-Gravitational Wave Cross-Correlation Predictor

Improvement: Train a predictive AI on the paper’s suggestion that MT events generate infrasound signals detectable by Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). The AI would simulate expected acoustic signatures from AQN spallation (energy, altitude, atmospheric profile) and correlate them with optical detections.

Capability: An improved monitoring system can automatically trigger DAS arrays or all-sky cameras when an optical flash is detected, and vice versa, enabling real-time multi-messenger confirmation of AQN events and reducing false positives.

6. Anomalous Signal Classifier for Particle Accelerators (LHC)

Improvement: Adapt the AQN model’s prediction of Unidentified Falling Objects (UFOs) in the LHC beam pipe into an AI-based anomaly detector that distinguishes AQN-induced beam loss patterns from mundane vacuum or RF failures, using temporal and energy deposition features.

Capability: The system can flag candidate AQN passages in accelerator data, providing a controlled, terrestrial test of the dark matter hypothesis and potentially discovering new physics in existing collider datasets.

7. Historical Data Re-Analysis with Uncertainty Quantification

Improvement: Apply a deep generative model to re-digitize and enhance POSS-1 plates, then use Monte Carlo dropout or ensemble methods to quantify detection confidence for each MT candidate, incorporating the paper’s alignment and correlation criteria.

Capability: The AI can produce a statistically robust catalog of MT events with per-event probabilities, enabling rigorous tests of the proposed AQN model against null hypotheses (e.g., airplane flares, meteors) and guiding follow-up observations.

8. Real-Time Decision Support for All-Sky Monitoring Networks

Improvement: Integrate the AQN model’s predictions into an active learning loop for a network of all-sky cameras, where the AI decides which regions of the sky to observe with higher cadence based on predicted AQN flux, ionization conditions, and historical event clustering.

Capability: The system optimizes observational resources to maximize the chance of capturing a spallation event, potentially catching a flash in real time and enabling immediate multi-wavelength follow-up (X-ray, neutrino, acoustic) to confirm the dark matter origin.

Transient star-like objects of unknown origin have been identified in the first Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS-1) as part of the Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) project. The source of the transients recorded by POSS-1 remains unknown, which is the warrant to coin the observed phenomena as Mysterious Transients (MT). We advocate an idea that the dark matter (DM) in form of the axion quark nuggets (AQN) made of standard model quarks (or antiquarks) and gluons, similar to the old idea of the Witten's strangelets, could simultaneously explain all the observed MT signals (including very short time scale for flash itself, association with nuclear test timing, observed alignments of several MT events, correlation with UAP reports, etc) collected or recorded for many years. Essentially we argue that the MT is a cousin of Ball Lightning (BL) events, also observed for centuries, without commonly accepted physics explanation. The basic parameters of this model (such as the typical baryon charge of the nuggets) had been fixed long ago by explaining the observed excess of radiation at variety of scales: from galactic to the solar, to local Earth's environments. In this work we use the same framework with the same set of parameters to study the observed MT phenomena. We also suggest several tests which substantiate or refute our proposal. We also present some suggestions on type of instruments required to study this specific (and well defined) type of the UAP events representing the cousins of BL and MT events in the AQN framework.