Scientists Experimenting With Quantum Effect That Some Fear Could Cause Chain Reaction That Ends Entire Universe

Chinese physicists built a tabletop quantum simulator using laser-driven Rydberg atoms to model false vacuum decay.

The experiment matched theory: stronger symmetry breaking sped up decay and produced true-vacuum bubbles.

The study, reported in Physical Review Letters, offers a controlled way to probe a rare quantum process.

In cosmology, the same process is theorized to trigger a catastrophic chain reaction that could end the universe.