The first stars formed hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang through reactions with helium hydride ions. (Image credit: John Lund via Getty Images)
For the first time, scientists have recreated the earliest molecules in the universe by simulating the conditions that existed at its beginning.
The findings challenge our understanding of how stars formed in the early universe and “require a reconsideration of the helium chemistry of the early universe,” the researchers wrote in a recent July 24 issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The first stars in the Universe
Immediately after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, the universe was in a state of extreme heat. Within seconds, however, the temperature had dropped to the point where hydrogen and helium, the first elements, could form. Hundreds of thousands of years after these elements formed, the temperature had dropped enough that their atoms could combine with electrons in various configurations to form molecules.
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