'Littlest' quark-gluon plasma revealed by physicists using Large Hadron Collider
University of Kansas
LAWRENCE – Researchers at the University of Kansas working with an international team at the Large Hadron Collider have produced quark-gluon plasma – a state of matter thought to have existed right at the birth of the universe – with fewer particles than previously thought possible. Wang performed key analysis for a paper about the experiment recently published in APS Physics. Indeed, these collisions were being studied as a reference for collisions of two lead nuclei to explore the non-quark-gluon-plasma aspects of the collisions, Wang said. This is probably the first evidence that the smallest droplet of quark gluon plasma is produced in proton-lead collisions. Wang said such experiments might help scientists to better understand cosmic conditions in the instant following the Big Bang.