Antihydrogen accumulation for fundamental symmetry tests
Date
2017
Authors
Ahmadi, M.
Olin, Art
et al.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nature Communications
Abstract
Article
Open Access
Published: 25 September 2017
Antihydrogen accumulation for fundamental symmetry tests
M. Ahmadi, B. X. R. Alves, […]J. S. Wurtele
Nature Communications volume 8, Article number: 681 (2017) Cite this article
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Abstract
Antihydrogen, a positron bound to an antiproton, is the simplest anti-atom. Its structure and properties are expected to mirror those of the hydrogen atom. Prospects for precision comparisons of the two, as tests of fundamental symmetries, are driving a vibrant programme of research. In this regard, a limiting factor in most experiments is the availability of large numbers of cold ground state antihydrogen atoms. Here, we describe how an improved synthesis process results in a maximum rate of 10.5 ± 0.6 atoms trapped and detected per cycle, corresponding to more than an order of magnitude improvement over previous work. Additionally, we demonstrate how detailed control of electron, positron and antiproton plasmas enables repeated formation and trapping of antihydrogen atoms, with the simultaneous retention of atoms produced in previous cycles. We report a record of 54 detected annihilation events from a single release of the trapped anti-atoms accumulated from five consecutive cycles.
Description
Keywords
Exotic atoms and molecules, Experimental particle physics
Citation
Ahmadi, M.; Alves, B. X. R.; Baker, C. J.; Bertsche, W.; Butler, E.; Capra, A.; … & Wurtele, J. S. (2017). Antihydrogen accumulation for fundamental symmetry tests. Nature Communications, 8, article 681. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00760-9