CERN quarks reveal liquid-like behavior in primordial plasma

· Science · Switzerland

Physicists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider have captured the clearest evidence yet that quark-gluon plasma — the scorching-hot matter that filled the newborn universe — behaves like a true liquid rather than a gas. By tracking individual quarks as they blasted through the plasma, researchers observed them leave behind ripples, splashes and swirling wakes, revealing collective, fluid-like motion at the subatomic scale. Quark-gluon plasma is a state of matter that existed microseconds after the Big Bang, before quarks and gluons bound together into protons and neutrons. The finding deepens understanding of the strong nuclear force and the conditions of the early universe, and could refine theoretical models of how matter first assembled. It also demonstrates that tracking individual particles, rather than bulk averages, can expose hidden dynamics in extreme states of matter.

Why it matters：Understanding how quarks and gluons behave in extreme conditions tests the limits of the standard model of particle physics and informs how matter evolved after the Big Bang, a question central to nuclear and high-energy physics worldwide.

Key points

  • Quark-gluon plasma is the state of matter that existed microseconds after the Big Bang
  • Researchers tracked individual quarks, not bulk averages, to observe ripples and swirling wakes
  • The evidence supports a liquid-like rather than gas-like interpretation of the plasma

Sources (original reporting)

More stories from this day