A puzzling observation is that there is an asymmetric property of matter - we have more matter than anti-matter in the universe. Why is that? Physicists frame this problem as CP-symmetry is broken. CP-symmetry, is the product of two symmetries: C for charge conjugation, which transforms a particle into its antiparticle, and P for parity, which creates the mirror image of a physical system [1]. Out of the four fundamental forces of physics, the weak force does not seem to obey this property. This interesting insight gave scientists the right clue on where the asymmetry may lie. Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu in the 1950s found the first experimental evidence for P-symmetry breaking in weak force reactions [2]. Her landmark work opened the doors for the current crusade to verify signatures of CP violation.
You won't find CP violation signatures on your table-top lab bench. Rather, you need a gigantic particle accelerator to smash highly energetic particles together to observe this phenomenon. Scientists working on the large hadron collider (LHC) have found signatures of this apparent symmetry breaking. Read here for more information.
When did this unbalance of matter and anti-matter begin? Well, that answer is still trying to be experimentally verified. Current cosmologists and particle physicists believe that this asymmetry occurred within the first second after the Big-Bang. Cosmologists hunt for signatures in the cosmic microwave while particle physicists do so with particle accelerators
The mystery is still out there and we are on our way to find out why.
Here was my walk through the Wikipedia library :
[1] : CP violation
[2] : Chien-Shiung Wu
[3] : Parity
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