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Large Hadron Collider reveals evidence of Big Bang matter in surprisingly small collisions

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The discovery was confirmed across all four major CERN experiments: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb. To verify the plasma's emergence, the ATLAS team measured significant parton energy loss by analyzing energy differences in paired particle jets during head-on collisions. This primordial matter emerges at temperatures exceeding 100,000 times the heat of the Sun's core, breaking protons and neutrons into their basic constituent parts.

Key points

  • Producing quark-gluon plasma does not strictly require the collision of heavy atomic nucl…: Producing quark-gluon plasma does not strictly require the collision of heavy atomic nuclei like lead.
  • Direct head-on collisions generate a greater volume of plasma, making energetic particle…: Direct head-on collisions generate a greater volume of plasma, making energetic particle energy loss much more pronounced.
  • These results give physicists an expanded method to investigate the first millionths of a…: These results give physicists an expanded method to investigate the first millionths of a second of the universe.

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- Date:

- November 2, 2026

- Source:

- CERN

- Summary:

- Scientists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider have uncovered compelling new evidence that even relatively small atomic collisions can recreate the extraordinary state of matter that filled the universe moments after the Big Bang. Known as quark-gluon plasma, this exotic substance forms at temperatures more than 100,000 times hotter than the center of the Sun, causing ordinary particles to break apart into their fundamental building blocks.

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The findings come one year after the first-ever oxygen collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). All four of the collider's major research collaborations, ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb, have now reported signs that this primordial form of matter can emerge when oxygen and neon nuclei collide.

The findings come one year after the first-ever oxygen collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). All four of the collider's major research collaborations, ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb, have now reported signs that this primordial form of matter can emerge when oxygen and neon nuclei collide.

The results challenge a long-standing assumption…

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