This is one of the most important questions about MQNs. Single Up-Down-Strange quark particles would decay in about 10 picoseconds in a high-energy accelerator — too fast to observe. But MQNs are not single particles. They are large aggregations of quarks, and the physics of aggregation changes everything.
We have shown in peer-reviewed research that single quark nuggets forming ~65 microseconds after the Big Bang would:
- Form when the universe was small and dense enough for Up, Down, and Strange quarks to coexist
- Aggregate by magnetic attraction before they could decay — the ferromagnetic force pulls them together faster than weak-force decay can pull them apart
- Satisfy all known requirements for dark matter
- Be consistent with both the Standard Model of Particle Physics and the Standard Model of Cosmology
Our computed mass distribution indicates MQNs formed in the early universe can have any mass greater than ~1,000 protons, but most of the dark-matter mass is concentrated in MQNs with masses between roughly 1 and 3,000,000 kilograms. This large mass means individual MQNs are extremely rare — which is why we haven't simply stumbled across one.
The animation below illustrates the aggregation process in the early universe — how individual quark nuggets, drawn together by their magnetic fields, merge into stable, massive objects before the window for decay closes.