Scientists trap antimatter particle for months in breakthrough study

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 25 Oct, 21:19 · Archive

Researchers at Northwestern University trapped a positron in isolation for months using magnetic and electric fields.

Researchers at Northwestern University have achieved a breakthrough in antimatter research by trapping a single positron for months. The team, led by Gerald Gabrielse, developed a device called a single-positron quantum cyclotron, which uses electric and magnetic fields to hold the antimatter particle in a vacuum at temperatures close to absolute zero.

Antimatter particles annihilate when they contact ordinary matter, releasing energy. To prevent this, scientists use vacuum chambers and electromagnetic fields to suspend antiparticles in isolation. The Northwestern team's innovation was to keep the positron at its lowest possible energy state, allowing controlled changes to its quantum behaviour without destroying the particle. Gabrielse told Interesting Engineering that researchers were able to 'coax this very fast positron to sit there and behave for months at a time'.

The ability to hold the particle for extended periods allowed the team to repeat measurements and study its properties in detail. Both outlets note that this breakthrough could help solve one of physics' fundamental mysteries: why the universe contains almost entirely ordinary matter when theory predicts the Big Bang should have created equal amounts of both matter and antimatter. Scientists know that electrons and positrons have the same mass but opposite charges, though questions remain about whether there are other subtle differences between matter and antimatter.

How it is being reported

• Scientists trapped antimatter particle for months — but studying it without blowing up lab was a challengeThis will blow your mind. A team of physicists recently trapped a single antimatter particle for months — a delicate feat where one wrong move could’ve blown up their lab, according to new research. Antimatter, which explodes when it comes into contact with the ordinary matter, was captured by researchers at Northwestern University and stored...New York Post · 25 Oct, 21:07
• Scientists Trapped an Antimatter Particle for Months to Study Its SecretsThese elusive and reactive particles have been challenging to hold on to and even more challenging to study, but a new method paves the way for tests on the differences between matter and antimatter.Wired · 25 Oct, 12:00

In this story: Northwestern University · Gerald Gabrielse · Physical Review Letters

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