Tag: particle physics
-
LHC Unveils Primordial Soup: Early Universe Fluidity
What the Large Hadron Collider Reveals About the Early Universe For decades, physicists have sought a window into the first microseconds after the Big Bang. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, now offers a surprising glimpse into that era. New analyses indicate that the primordial soup that filled…
-
LHC Quark-Gluon Plasma: Primordial Soup Was Soupy
Intro: A New Picture of the Big Bang’s First Moments Researchers at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have peeled back another layer of the universe’s oldest mystery. By recreating fleeting, ultra-hot conditions that existed just after the Big Bang, scientists observed that the primordial quark-gluon plasma — the searingly hot mix of fundamental particles that…
-
LHC Finds Primordial Soup Was Surprisingly Soupy, Shaping Our View of the Early Universe
The Primordial Soup and the Big Bang For decades, physicists have explored the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) — a state of matter thought to resemble the universe in its first microseconds after the Big Bang. At trillion-degree temperatures, protons and neutrons melt away, freeing quarks and gluons to form a hot, dense soup. The Large Hadron…
-
To make sense of cosmic rays, CERN team tracks a fragile nucleus
The fragile deuteron and cosmic rays Cosmic rays have long fascinated scientists: high-energy particles that voyage through space and collide with Earth’s atmosphere, creating cascades of secondary particles. To interpret these events, researchers at CERN are turning a precise eye on a surprisingly delicate object in the nucleus of light elements—the deuteron. This simple, two-nucleon…
-
CERN tracks fragile deuteron to unlock cosmic ray mysteries
Introduction: a tiny nucleus with outsized importance Cosmic rays are energetic messengers from far corners of the universe, constantly bombarding Earth. To interpret their signals, scientists need a precise understanding of the tiny building blocks that make up matter and how these blocks behave under extreme conditions. At CERN, researchers are focusing on one of…
-
Dark Matter’s Earliest Moments Were Far More Extreme Than We Thought
Unveiling the Dark: A Quick Primer on Dark Matter Dark matter remains one of the most enduring mysteries in cosmology. Making up about 85% of the matter in the universe, it does not emit, absorb, or reflect light in any detectable way. Its presence is inferred from gravitational effects on galaxies, galaxy clusters, and the…
-
Dark Matter’s Earliest Moments May Have Been Far More Extreme Than We Thought
Unraveling the Dark Matter Dawn Dark matter accounts for roughly 85% of the matter in the universe, yet its nature remains one of the most enduring mysteries in cosmology. Recent theoretical and observational work hints that dark matter’s earliest moments—moments shortly after the Big Bang—may have been far more extreme than scientists previously imagined. If…
-
Dark Matter and Ghost Particles: A Cosmology Breakthrough
A Potential Turning Point in Cosmology For decades, dark matter has haunted cosmology as the unseen scaffolding of the universe. Its gravity shapes galaxies, yet its true nature remains elusive. Add to that the so-called ghost particles—neutrinos, which rarely interact with normal matter—and you have a cocktail of mysteries that scientists have long suspected might…
-
Dark Matter and Neutrinos: Potential Breakthrough in Cosmology
Unveiling a Fundamental Possibility Researchers are exploring a provocative idea: what if the universe’s two most enigmatic components—dark matter and neutrinos (often called ghost particles for their elusive nature)—interact with each other? A growing number of theoretical models and indirect observations suggest that such interactions could be more than a curiosity. They might underpin a…
-
Dark Matter and Ghost Particles: A Potential Breakthrough in Cosmology
A Possible Intersection of the Invisible: Dark Matter and Ghost Particles Scientists are edging toward what some researchers describe as a fundamental breakthrough in cosmology and particle physics. The idea is both audacious and tantalizing: dark matter, the unseen mass that shapes galaxies, might interact with so‑called ghost particles—often associated with sterile neutrinos or other…