Primordial halo simulations reveal how cosmic storms shaped the universe’s first stars

Just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, the universe lacked galaxies, planets, and heavy elements like carbon or oxygen. It consisted mainly of primordial hydrogen and helium, which fell into dark matter cocoons called “minihalos,” leading to the birth of the first stars known as Population III stars.

Just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, the universe was a dark and simple place. There were no galaxies like the Milky Way, no planets, and no heavy elements such as carbon or oxygen. Instead, vast clouds of primordial hydrogen and helium drifted through space, slowly falling into invisible cocoons of dark matter known as “minihalos.” Within these halos, the very first stars—called Population III stars—were born.