Large Hadron Collider Experiments Bring New Insight Into Primordial Universe

After less than three weeks of heavy-ion running, the three experiments studying lead ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider have already brought new insight into matter as it would have existed in the very first instants of the Universe's life. The ALICE experiment, which is optimised for the study of heavy ions, published two papers just a few days after the start of lead-ion running.

Now, the first direct observation of a phenomenon known as jet quenching has been made by both the ATLAS and CMS collaborations. This result is reported in a paper from the ATLAS collaboration accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters. A CMS paper will follow shortly, and results from all of the experiments will be presented at a seminar on Dec. 2 at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research).