Setting a Trap for Antimatter

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Setting a Trap for Antimatter

Matter and Antimatter? Particle and Atoms of Matter and Antimatter
Annihilation Challenges
Traps: Containers Without Walls
Making Antimatter Atoms?
Why Should We Do This?


Universe Made of Antimatter
• Essentially the same as a universe made of matter
• We only know two ways for inhabitants to know whether they
live in a universe made of matter or antimatter
(Need a large accelerator complex and
sophisticated techniques)


Can study the particle properties with
extremely high precision
Antiproton and proton have the same charge-to-mass ratio
to better than 1 part in 1010 = 10000000000
Measure the electron magnetic moment
to better than 1 part in 1012 = 1000000000000
Gives a new value for the fine structure constant α
that is much more accurate



Cold Antihydrogen Aspirations Announced Long Ago

“For me, the most attractive way ... would be to capture the
antihydrogen in a neutral particle trap ... The objective would be
to then study the properties of a small number of [antihydrogen]
atoms confined in the neutral trap for a long time.”