[Georgia (OP)]

Donald has got in touch to ask:

"Since protons and electrons were created by independent energies, why are protons and electron populations of the same order or possibly exactly the same within the visible universe? 

Exhibit A. all molecular clouds show every little evidence of ionization.
Exhibit B. if there were populations of naked protons in space, our magnetic shield would be always producing Aurora's."

What do you think?

[evan_au]

protons and electrons were created by independent energies

I'm not quite sure what " independent energies" means.

In one reaction, exactly equal numbers of protons and electrons (and the ghostly neutrinos) are produced in a single reaction, the decay of the neutron.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_neutron_decay

It is thought that protons and electrons were produced in the Big Bang. Initially, temperatures were too high for protons and electrons to exist, but as temperatures dropped, protons became stable particles, and about 1 second later, electrons became stable particles.

But today it is an unsolved mystery to physicists why:
- protons slightly exceeded the number of antiprotons
- electrons slightly exceeded the number of positrons
- by exactly the same number (as far as current measurements allow)

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang#Cooling
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baryon_asymmetry

[jeffreyH]

Protons are made of quarks and gluons. The ratio of protons to electrons would depend on the number of the relevant types of quark that were available to combine to form them. This may well have depended on the number of electrons available in the conditions immediately after the big bang. It may have been inevitable.

[jeffreyH]

New evidence is coming to light about the conditions just after the big bang. This evidence comes from particle colliders. Here is a report from last year.
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/misbehaving-particles-may-answer-key-question-about-big-bang-ncna771071

[Bill S]

The ratio of protons to electrons would depend on the number of the relevant types of quark that were available to combine to form them. This may well have depended on the number of electrons available in the conditions immediately after the big bang.

Could this be the case if protons were stable before electrons?

[jeffreyH]

This is discussed in a conversation here:
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/135414/how-did-photons-and-electrons-arise-out-of-the-quark-gluon-plasma

[Bill S]

Thanks for the link, Jeffrey.  I'll add it to my reading list.