Scientists Create Thelittlest Big Bang to Study the Universe’s Origins

The discovery redefines how large atoms need to be to produce the extreme state of matter found in the early universe. Scientists Create the Littlest Big Bang to Study the Universe's Origins. Save this story Save this story In the very first moments of the universe, matter didn’t exist as we know today.

A millionth of a second or so after the big bang, the universe was a dense, hot soup scientists call quark-gluon plasma (QGP). For several years, particle colliders —which smash molecules together at nearly the speed of light—have been able to replicate this state, but often using heavy elements like lead. Now, a recent experiment by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (also known as CERN from its French acronym) has demonstrated this plasma can be produced by much smaller collisions.

Since there’s no longer an accessible natural source of this primordial sludge, these micro big bangs can help reveal what happened in the first few minutes of our universe. Quarks are what make up protons and neutrons, which, in turn, are the building blocks of atoms and thus all matter. Meanwhile, gluons—as their name suggests—stick quarks together.

During the first microseconds of the universe, quarks and gluons were not yet confined within protons and neutrons but instead formed an extremely hot plasma.