Rinku Maji

According to theories beyond the Standard Model, our best description of elementary particles and their interactions, pairs of magnetic monopoles were born in the first instants after the Big Bang. These hypothetical particles carry only one magnetic pole—'north' or 'south'—unlike familiar magnets where poles are inseparable.

The early Universe was like a rapidly cooling ocean. At colossal temperatures, everything was one — quarks, electrons, forces all blended into a symmetric 'steam.' But as it expanded and cooled, this steam condensed, phase transitions cascading one after another like water turning to ice.