Scientists have recreated the first molecule in the universe

A few seconds after the Big Bang, the newborn universe gave birth to the first elements – ionized for forms of hydrogen and helium. These particles combined, forging hydride helium – the very first molecule. It would still take several hundred years at the birth of the first stars, and scientists have long been perplexed on the exact nature of the chemical processes that led to their formation.

To try to disentangle the history of stellar origin, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heidelberg nuclear physics, Germany, has recreated helium hydride in the laboratory. They found that he was probably playing a much more important role in the star birth than they had thought before, helping the clouds of primordial gas to lose enough heat to collapse in stars.

In the study, the researchers have recreated collisions between helium hydrates and deuterium in what they believe to be a first experience of its kind, according to a press release. Their results, published in the magazine Astronomy & Astrophysics on July 24, indicate that the reaction rate remains constant as the temperature drops, contradicting previous work.

“Previous theories have predicted a significant decrease in the probability of a low -temperature reaction, but we could not verify it in the experience or new theoretical calculations of our colleagues,” said Holger Kreckel, researcher at Max Planck and the main study of the study, in a press release.

“The reactions of (helium hydride) with neutral hydrogen and deuterium therefore seem to have been much more important for chemistry in the early universe than what was assumed previously,” he added.

Two helium hydride reactions produce molecular hydrogen and have probably helped the formation of stars in the early universe. In the first – reproduced in the study – Deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen which contains a neutron in addition to a proton, collided with helium hydrate to produce deuteride hydrogen, a form of molecular hydrogen composed of a hydrogen atom and a deuterium atom. The other reaction occurs when helium hydride collides with a neutral hydrogen atom, producing neutral molecular hydrogen. The two forms of molecular hydrogen act as cooling liquids, helping nebulae losing heat, condenser and finally collapsing in stars.

The researchers used Max Planck’s cryogenic storage ring to perform their experience. This low -temperature reaction chamber allows scientists to study molecular and atomic reactions under spatial conditions. The team stored Helium hydride ions inside the room for a minute at around -450 degrees Fahrenheit (-267 degrees Celsius), then superimposed them with a bundle of neutral Deuterium atoms. To observe how the collision rate varies with collision energy – is largely linked to temperature – they have adjusted the relative speeds of the two particle beams.

Scientists previously thought that the rate of reactions would slow down as the temperature dropped, but the results of this experience suggest the opposite. The researchers found that the rate remained almost constant despite a decrease in temperatures. This surprising result suggests that helium hydride remains chemically active even in cold conditions, an observation that scientists support in their article should cause a re -evaluation of helium chemistry in the early universe.