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First Spectroscopy of Antihydrogen with Laser-Cooling assisted Antihydrogen Trapping

首次利用激光冷却辅助反氢捕获进行反氢光谱研究

基本信息

批准号：
EP/K017373/1
负责人：
Niels Madsen
金额：
$ 144.86万
依托单位：
Swansea University
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2013
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2013 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FK017373%2F1
关键词：
First Spectroscopy Antihydrogen Laser Cooling

项目摘要

Antimatter lies at the heart of one of the most profound mysteries in our current understanding of the universe. Since the discovery of quantum mechanics, the description of the very small, and Einstein's general relativity theory, the description of the very large, the two have been at odds with each other. Quantum mechanics predicts the existence of a mirror image of matter, the so-called antimatter, which was soon confirmed. However, quantum mechanics also predict that the universe should be symmetric with respect to matter and antimatter or in other words that half the universe should be made of antimatter. Until now we have found no evidence of bulk antimatter in the universe a fact that remains a mystery in science. This is where Einstein may perhaps enter the stage. Einstein's theory describes the development of the very large (stars, galaxies, the universe) very well, but it is not compatible with the quantum world. A description of our world capable of encompassing both the very large and the very small has thus far eluded science. Such a description will have to include an explanation for the apparent lack of antimatter in the universe.The recent start up of the LHC forms part of the effort to address this fundamental problem in our understanding of the world around us. This fellowship forms part of another, low energy, approach to the same issue. We are working towards detailed studies of the structure of neutral atoms made of antimatter. According to quantum mechanics their structure should be exactly the same as their matter counterparts. To accomplish this goal we are trapping Antihydrogen and plan to compare it to Hydrogen. As quantum mechanics predicts that these atoms should have identical internal structure to any level of precision, any difference we may discover will deliver ground-breaking information for our understanding of the universe. The making and trapping of these anti-atoms is a delicate affair, and the work here builds on many years of experience in the production of Antihydrogen and the recent successful trapping of the same. The motivation for making atoms is that these are neutral and can be probed by one of the best precision tools available to science - lasers. Precise measurements on atomic systems have been perfected over the last century and the advent of lasers accelerated the field far beyond other fields of precision measurement, such that today, we can measure transitions in atoms with up to 17 decimal places of precision. We plan to apply the techniques with this unfathomable precision to study our trapped Antihydrogen atoms.However, this lofty goal requires very precise control over the formation of the Antihydrogen. The Antihydrogen must be trapped to allow for precise measurements of its internal structure. As Antihydrogen is neutral, it cannot be easily trapped. However, we can trap Antihydrogen in a magnetic trap. This is possible as Antihydrogen, though neutral, has a structure, which causes it to have a small magnetic moment, or in other words behave as a very small magnet. The tricky bit to trapping the Antihydrogen is that this dipole moment is so small, that even with state-of-the-art magnetic fields, our trap can only hold atoms so slow that their energy corresponds to a temperature less than half a degree above absolute zero. We are therefore currently only able to trap about one atom at a time. This project aims to facilitate the production of very cold Antihydrogen by using Beryllium ions, which can be cooled using a technique called laser-cooling. These ions can be cooled to a few thousandth of a degree above absolute zero, and can thus be used as a heat sink for the particles used to form Antihydrogen. We expect that this effort could significantly increase the number of trapped atoms and allow us to study the differences between Antihydrogen and Hydrogen in great detail. If any difference is found it will have a profound impact on physics as we know it.

反物质是我们目前对宇宙的理解中最深刻的谜团之一的核心。自从量子力学发现以来，对非常小的描述，和爱因斯坦的广义相对论，对非常大的描述，两者一直互相矛盾。量子力学预测物质镜像的存在，即所谓的反物质，很快就得到了证实。然而，量子力学还预测宇宙应该关于物质和反物质对称，或者换句话说，宇宙的一半应该由反物质组成。到目前为止，我们还没有发现宇宙中存在大量反物质的证据，这一事实仍然是科学上的一个谜。这就是爱因斯坦可能登场的地方。爱因斯坦的理论很好地描述了非常大的事物（恒星、星系、宇宙）的发展，但它与量子世界不兼容。迄今为止，科学还无法对我们的世界进行描述，既能涵盖极大的世界，也能涵盖极小的世界。这样的描述必须包括对宇宙中明显缺乏反物质的解释。最近启动的大型强子对撞机是解决我们理解周围世界这一基本问题的努力的一部分。该奖学金是解决同一问题的另一种低能量方法的一部分。我们正在努力详细研究由反物质构成的中性原子的结构。根据量子力学，它们的结构应该与它们的物质对应物完全相同。为了实现这一目标，我们正在捕获反氢并计划将其与氢进行比较。由于量子力学预测这些原子在任何精度水平上都应该具有相同的内部结构，因此我们可能发现的任何差异都将为我们理解宇宙提供突破性的信息。这些反原子的制造和捕获是一件微妙的事情，这里的工作建立在多年的反氢生产经验以及最近成功捕获反氢原子的基础上。制造原子的动机是它们是中性的，可以通过科学上最好的精密工具之一——激光来探测。原子系统的精确测量在上个世纪已经完善，激光的出现加速了这一领域的发展，远远超出了其他精密测量领域，以至于今天，我们可以测量原子中的跃迁，精确度高达小数点后 17 位。我们计划以这种深不可测的精度应用这些技术来研究我们捕获的反氢原子。然而，这个崇高的目标需要对反氢原子的形成进行非常精确的控制。必须捕获反氢才能精确测量其内部结构。由于反氢呈中性，因此不易被捕获。然而，我们可以将反氢捕获在磁力陷阱中。这是可能的，因为反氢虽然是中性的，但其结构使其具有很小的磁矩，或者换句话说，它就像一个非常小的磁铁。捕获反氢的棘手之处在于，这个偶极矩是如此之小，以至于即使有最先进的磁场，我们的陷阱也只能将原子保持得如此缓慢，以至于它们的能量对应于比绝对零高不到半度的温度。因此，我们目前一次只能捕获大约一个原子。该项目旨在利用铍离子促进极冷反氢的生产，铍离子可以使用激光冷却技术进行冷却。这些离子可以冷却到绝对零以上千分之几度，因此可以用作用于形成反氢的粒子的散热器。我们预计这项工作可以显着增加捕获原子的数量，并使我们能够详细研究反氢和氢之间的差异。如果发现任何差异，它将对我们所知的物理学产生深远的影响。

项目成果

期刊论文数量（10）

专著数量（0）

科研奖励数量（0）

会议论文数量（0）

专利数量（0）

Antihydrogen accumulation for fundamental symmetry tests.

DOI：
10.1038/s41467-017-00760-9
发表时间：
2017-09-25
期刊：
Nature communications
影响因子：
16.6
作者：
Ahmadi M;Alves BXR;Baker CJ;Bertsche W;Butler E;Capra A;Carruth C;Cesar CL;Charlton M;Cohen S;Collister R;Eriksson S;Evans A;Evetts N;Fajans J;Friesen T;Fujiwara MC;Gill DR;Gutierrez A;Hangst JS;Hardy WN;Hayden ME;Isaac CA;Ishida A;Johnson MA;Jones SA;Jonsell S;Kurchaninov L;Madsen N;Mathers M;Maxwell D;McKenna JTK;Menary S;Michan JM;Momose T;Munich JJ;Nolan P;Olchanski K;Olin A;Pusa P;Rasmussen CØ;Robicheaux F;Sacramento RL;Sameed M;Sarid E;Silveira DM;Stracka S;Stutter G;So C;Tharp TD;Thompson JE;Thompson RI;van der Werf DP;Wurtele JS
通讯作者：
Wurtele JS

An experimental limit on the charge of antihydrogen.

DOI：
10.1038/ncomms4955
发表时间：
2014-06-03
期刊：
Nature communications
影响因子：
16.6
作者：
Amole C;Ashkezari MD;Baquero-Ruiz M;Bertsche W;Butler E;Capra A;Cesar CL;Charlton M;Eriksson S;Fajans J;Friesen T;Fujiwara MC;Gill DR;Gutierrez A;Hangst JS;Hardy WN;Hayden ME;Isaac CA;Jonsell S;Kurchaninov L;Little A;Madsen N;McKenna JT;Menary S;Napoli SC;Nolan P;Olchanski K;Olin A;Povilus A;Pusa P;Rasmussen CØ;Robicheaux F;Sarid E;Silveira DM;So C;Tharp TD;Thompson RI;van der Werf DP;Vendeiro Z;Wurtele JS;Zhmoginov AI;Charman AE
通讯作者：
Charman AE

In situ electromagnetic field diagnostics with an electron plasma in a Penning-Malmberg trap