The Digital Press

Physicists at Rice University have directly measured the temperature of quark-gluon plasma, the ultra-hot matter from microseconds after the Big Bang, revealing its thermal evolution with unprecedented precision. This breakthrough refines understanding of matter under extreme conditions and the early universe’s thermal history.

Why it matters: It provides direct experimental insight into primordial matter’s temperature, validating and refining theoretical models of the universe’s first moments.

The big picture: Mapping quark-gluon plasma temperatures improves the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram, crucial for understanding matter under extreme heat and density.

Experimental breakthrough: Using electron-positron emissions as a penetrating thermometer at RHIC, researchers isolated thermal signals despite immense technical challenges.

Commenters say: Readers praise the innovative measurement technique and its implications for cosmology, while noting the complexity of interpreting signals in such extreme conditions.