Researchers Produce Early Universe Matter at Reduced Collision Energies

Scientists have successfully generated quark-gluon plasma, a state of matter akin to the early universe, by colliding oxygen nuclei at significantly lower energies than previously achieved. This breakthrough, confirmed at Brookhaven's RHIC and CERN's LHC, establishes a new lower energy threshold for creating this plasma in small systems, offering vital insights into the universe's initial matter formation.