Breakthrough in antimatter research: Qubit made from antiprotons discovered!

Breakthrough in antimatter research: Qubit made from antiprotons discovered!

The BASE collaboration at CERN in Geneva has achieved a remarkable breakthrough in antimatter research. For the first time, a single antiproton could be controlled between two spin quantum states for almost a minute. This study, published in the renowned journal Nature was published, marks the first realization of a quantum bit (qubit) made of antimatter.

Antiprotons have the same mass as protons but have opposite electrical charges. The spin of these particles behaves like tiny bar magnets that point in two directions. Precisely measuring the magnetic moment of these particles is not only of theoretical interest, but also crucial for quantum measurement technology. To achieve this, the BASE collaboration used the method of “coherent spin quantum transition spectroscopy” to analyze the behavior of the antiprotons.

CPT symmetry and its meaning

The background of this research is to test CPT symmetry, which is central to matter-antimatter interactions. CPT symmetry requires matter and antimatter to behave equally. Despite this symmetry, the observable universe is almost entirely made up of matter, which explains the phenomenon of asymmetry.

The BASE collaboration successfully demonstrated the spin transition at a single antiproton, achieving a coherence time of 50 seconds. These antiprotons are created in CERN's Antimatter Factory (AMF) and stored in Penning traps. In recent years, significant progress has been made so that the magnetic moment of the antiproton can now be determined with greater precision.

Research perspectives

A new system called BASE-STEP is intended to transport antiprotons to precision laboratories where longer spin coherence times and increased measurement accuracy are sought. The BASE collaboration, founded in 2012 and led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Ulmer from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, includes international research institutes, including RIKEN, CERN and the Max Planck Institute.

In addition to groundbreaking experiences with antiprotons, BASE scientists have studied the response of matter and antimatter to gravity. They compared the charge-to-mass ratios of antiprotons and protons and made precise measurements using the clocks of matter and antimatter. These experiments revealed that no frequency anomalies occurred, confirming the validity of the weak equivalence principle for both systems.

These developments help deepen our understanding of our universe and could provide essential clues to the fundamental symmetrical laws of particle physics. Comparing the reactions of matter and antimatter in the context of gravity remains a key challenge and a fascinating field of research for future science.

Further information about the results of the BASE collaboration can be found on the website of Science Online and Max Planck Institute read up.