Scientists Recreate The First Millisecond After The Big Bang At The LHC And Find Less Than 1% Decrease That Reveals What The Universe's Primordial "Soup" Was Like

Scientists Recreate The First Millisecond After The Big Bang At The LHC And Find Less Than 1% Decrease That Reveals What The Universe’s Primordial “Soup” Was Like

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 22/02/2026 at 07:35

Ilustração de um quark atravessando um plasma de quarks e glúons, que preencheu o universo nos primeiros milissegundos após o Big Bang. Os físicos provaram que essas interações deixaram um rastro nítido, comprovando que esse plasma primordial era uma substância pastosa. (Crédito da imagem: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT)

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Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider Recreated Extreme Conditions of the Big Bang by Producing Quark and Gluon Plasma, Allowing Physicists to Detect a Drop of Less Than 1% in Particle Production and Gain New Insights into the Behavior of Matter in the Universe’s First Moments

In the first millisecond after the Big Bang, LHC physicists recreated a quark and gluon plasma in the lab and detected a drop of less than 1% in particle production behind a quark, revealing new evidence about primordial matter.

High-energy collisions at the Large Hadron Collider revealed the faintest trace left by a quark as it traverses nuclear matter at trillions of degrees. The result suggests that the universe’s primordial soup may literally have been more like a soup.

The discoveries come from the Compact Muon Solenoid collaboration at the LHC. The experiment presented the first clear evidence of a subtle drop in particle production behind a high-energy quark as it passes through the quark and gluon plasma.

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Recreating the Big Bang Environment in the Laboratory

When heavy atomic nuclei collide at speeds close to the speed of light within the LHC, they briefly merge into an exotic state called quark and gluon plasma. In this extreme environment, density and temperature prevent the maintenance of regular atomic structure.

According to Yi Chen, assistant professor of physics at Vanderbilt University and a member of the CMS team, all nuclei overlap and form the plasma. In this state, quarks and gluons can move beyond the boundaries of the nuclei and behave more like a liquid.

The droplet of plasma created in these collisions measures about 10⁻¹⁴ meters in diameter, or 10,000 times smaller than an atom. It disappears almost instantly, but in that brief interval, quarks and gluons flow collectively in a manner similar to an ultra-thin liquid.

Researchers seek to understand how high-energy particles interact with this medium. The goal is to investigate how a high-energy quark traverses this small droplet of liquid created in collisions simulating Big Bang conditions.

The theory predicts that the quark would leave a detectable trail in the plasma behind it, somewhat like a boat cutting through water. There would be a displacement of the medium forward and a small drop in the level behind the trajectory.

In practice, separating the signal of the quark from the behavior of the plasma is complex. The droplet is tiny, and the experimental resolution is limited. In front of the trajectory, the intense interaction makes it difficult to distinguish distinct signals.

However, behind the quark, the trail, if present, should be a property of the plasma itself. The team focused efforts on finding this small depression in the rear of the path.

Z Boson as a Marker for the Quark

To isolate the predicted trail, physicists used the Z boson as a partner particle for the quark. The Z boson is one of the carriers of the weak nuclear force, responsible for certain atomic and subatomic decay processes.

In certain collisions, a Z boson and a high-energy quark are produced together, recoiling in opposite directions. Unlike quarks and gluons, the Z boson interacts very little with the quark and gluon plasma.

According to Chen, with respect to the plasma, the Z boson simply escapes and disappears. It exits the collision zone practically unscathed, providing an accurate indicator of the quark’s original direction and energy.

This setup allows physicists to track the quark as it traverses the plasma without the partner particle being distorted by the medium. The Z boson serves as a calibrated marker to analyze subtle changes.

The team measured the correlations between Z bosons and hadrons, particles composed of quarks that emerge from the collision. The analysis focused on the number of hadrons in the backward direction relative to the motion of the quark.

Drop of Less Than 1% in Particle Production

The observed effect is small. On average, in the direction opposite to the quark, a variation of less than 1% in the amount of plasma was recorded. The outcome took time to be demonstrated experimentally.

This suppression of less than 1% corresponds to the type of signature expected when a quark transfers energy and momentum to the plasma, leaving a depleted region in its wake. The team reports it as the first clear detection of this drop in Z quark tagged events.

The shape and depth of the depression contain information about the properties of the plasma. The analogy presented compares the behavior of the medium to water or honey, depending on how easily the depression fills back in.

If the fluid flows easily, the region behind the object reconstitutes quickly. If it behaves like honey, the depression persists longer. Studying this characteristic provides data about the plasma itself.

Implications for the Universe After the Big Bang

The observations have cosmological implications. It is believed that the primordial universe, shortly after the Big Bang, was filled with quark and gluon plasma before cooling and forming protons, neutrons, and atoms.

According to Chen, this era is not directly observable by telescopes, as the universe was opaque at that time. Heavy ion collisions offer a small glimpse into how the universe behaved.

The detected drop is described as just the beginning. The work opens a new path to gain more information about the properties of the plasma recreated in the laboratory.

With more data collected, it will be possible to study this effect more precisely and learn more about the quark and gluon plasma that marked the initial moments of the universe after the Big Bang.

Scientists Recreate The First Millisecond After The Big Bang At The LHC And Find Less Than 1% Decrease That Reveals What The Universe’s Primordial “Soup” Was Like

Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider Recreated Extreme Conditions of the Big Bang by Producing Quark and Gluon Plasma, Allowing Physicists to Detect a Drop of Less Than 1% in Particle Production and Gain New Insights into the Behavior of Matter in the Universe’s First Moments

Recreating the Big Bang Environment in the Laboratory

Z Boson as a Marker for the Quark

Drop of Less Than 1% in Particle Production

Implications for the Universe After the Big Bang

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Scientists Recreate The First Millisecond After The Big Bang At The LHC And Find Less Than 1% Decrease That Reveals What The Universe’s Primordial “Soup” Was Like

Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider Recreated Extreme Conditions of the Big Bang by Producing Quark and Gluon Plasma, Allowing Physicists to Detect a Drop of Less Than 1% in Particle Production and Gain New Insights into the Behavior of Matter in the Universe’s First Moments

Recreating the Big Bang Environment in the Laboratory

Z Boson as a Marker for the Quark

Drop of Less Than 1% in Particle Production

Implications for the Universe After the Big Bang

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Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

Study solves great ancient mystery: remains of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, are identified in Vergina and resolves the enigma of the Macedonian royal tombs that had lasted half a century.

Portugal installs two giant underwater sockets to draw water from the Atlantic and create a €107.9 million desalination plant in the Algarve capable of producing 43.2 million liters of potable water per day with ocean intake 2 km from the coast.

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