Physicists probe primordial matter that filled universe after Big Bang

Geneva: For more than two decades, physicists have studied one of the strangest forms of matter ever created in a laboratory: the quark-gluon plasma, or QGP.

Quarks and gluons are the smallest known building blocks of matter. In the first few millionths of a second after the Big Bang, the universe was filled with this hot, dense soup before quarks bound together to form the first protons and neutrons.

Scientists recreate these extreme conditions by smashing heavy atomic nuclei together at near-light speed in particle accelerators. The collisions briefly generate temperatures millions of times hotter than the sun’s core, melting protons and neutrons into free-flowing quarks and gluons.

Studying QGP helps researchers understand how matter formed in the early universe and how the strong nuclear force binds the fundamental particles together. The work continues to push the limits of physics, offering a glimpse into the universe’s first moments.