---
title: "New Theory: Dark Matter Was Created by “Boiling” Bubbles of Plasma"
description: "Scientists have a new idea for where dark matter came from: \"boiling\" bubbles of plasma at the beginning of the universe."
date: "2020-11-06"
modified: "2020-11-06"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/dark-matter-created-boiling-bubbles-plasma"
categories:
  - "Astrophysics"
  - "Dark Matter"
  - "Physics"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "dark matter"
  - "physics"
  - "Plasma"
  - "the digest"
---

# New Theory: Dark Matter Was Created by “Boiling” Bubbles of Plasma

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/dark-matter-created-boiling-bubbles-plasma.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Pixabay\</em\>*

## Bubbling Over

A team of scientists has an unusual explanation for how and when dark matter — the [invisible, mysterious stuff](<https://futurism.com/dark-matter-effect-10x-should-be>) that's theorized to make up most of the matter in the universe — was formed.

The theory boils down to a brief period of chaos during the earliest moments of the universe, *[Live Science ](<https://www.livescience.com/new-dark-matter-theory.html>)*[reports](<https://www.livescience.com/new-dark-matter-theory.html>). Basically, after a period of intense heat and energy, the universe began to cool and expand, during which massive blobs of plasma formed like bubbles in a cauldron, creating and filtering out brand-new subatomic particles. If the study holds up, it could guide astronomers toward nailing down the existence of those dark matter particles for the first time.

## Filter Feeder

As these bubbles grew and expanded, they filtered out and annihilated subatomic particles with lower masses, [according to research](<https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.151102>) published in the journal *Physical Review Letters*. As a result, the bubbles of plasma dictated how much and what kinds of matter survived in the newly-forming universe.

"In this way, the amount of dark matter that we measure in the universe today is a direct result of this filtration in the first fractions of a second after the Big Bang," Rice University physicist and study coauthor Andrew Long told *Live Science*.

## On The Hunt

Because only the heavier particles survived, this theory could guide new scientific endeavors to track down and identify what dark matter is made of by ruling out lighter candidate particles [like WIMPs](<https://futurism.com/study-dark-matter-bullets-human-flesh>), *Live Science* reports.

"Although we know how much dark matter our universe contains," Long told *Live Science*, "for decades now, we've been left wondering about dark matter's nature and origin."

**READ MORE:** [Cosmic bubbles may have forged dark matter, new theory suggests](<https://www.livescience.com/new-dark-matter-theory.html>) \[*Live Science*\]

**More on dark matter:** *[Dark Matter’s Effect Is 10x What It Should Be, Scientists Say](<https://futurism.com/dark-matter-effect-10x-should-be>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)