The universe we live in has a minimum energy level where it is void; however, as we now know the universe is not static but rather dynamic, contracting and expanding, which in turn determines a distortion of the void that becomes no longer empty, thus particles being created. This is called a quantum effect in cosmological terms.

This effect is relatively small now, but there is evidence that in the beginning of the universe the quantum effects where very high. Scientists from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, at the Dresden University of Technology, are working to create an experiment in which to observe the quantum creation of a sub-atomic particle in a device similar to that which creates a phonon inside an ion trap. They hope to observe the same effect of quantum particle creation that happens in the universe, but instead of using elementary particles they plan to test phonons in an ion trap.

Whenever elementary particles are created through the quantum effect in the universe, they must also come in pairs due to momentum conservation laws, thus a particle created will be instantaneously followed by the creation of its anti-particle. This should also happen in the ion trap, the quantum effect resulting in the creation of pair phonons. However, if only one particle is created instead of two then it would show no indication of quantum effect occurring.

The detection of such pairs inside the ion trap would rule out the classical theory that involves creation of elementary particle through heating. According to theorist Schützhold, though the demonstration and understanding of the quantum effects that take place when a particle is created could be made possible through this experiment, it would not necessarily lead to theories regarding the formation of the universe. The data extracted however could provide information about the quantum effects that took place in the early life of the universe, but do not provide concrete evidence of cosmological particle creation.

Preliminary experiments using cooled ions close to the ground state revealed an optical pumping accuracy of 99 percent, but head of the experiment Garching says that the ion trap is not fully ready yet, and should be operational by the beginning of the next year.

The possible success of the German experiment may provide a way to study the quantum effects that take place when an elementary particle is created, and new understanding of some of the most fundamental effects of quantum theory. The experiment is the first one of its kind since this effect has been predicted by the quantum theory but has not been yet observed in theory, due to the fact that technology did not provide a practical way to do so.

While technology slowly advances towards new means to measure the predicted quantum effects, scientists pioneer novel analog experiments to match as closely as possible the same effects described by theory.