The antimatter particles have an opposite charge to the normal material particles. When the particles of matter and antimatter meet, they will annihilate each other. Interestingly, antimatter behavior is similar to ordinary matter.
In a new study, researchers at the Swiss European Nuclear Research Organization (CERN) lab studied anti-hydrogen atoms to gain a deeper understanding of the differences between matter and antimatter.
An antihydrogen atom composed of an antiproton and a positron (an antimatter counterpart of an electron) is an antimatter form of a hydrogen atom. The researchers used the anti-proton reducer of the ALPHA (Anti-Hydrogen Laser Physics Instrument) instrument of the European Nuclear Research Center to combine antiprotons with positrons to form anti-hydrogen atoms.
The researchers then captured hundreds of anti-hydrogen atoms in a vacuum and used green laser pointer laser pulses to excite the atoms, causing them to jump into higher energy states. Measuring this change, called the Lyman-alpha transition, is a method commonly used in astronomical dark energy research. When anti-hydrogen atoms fall back to lower energy states, they release photons. The researchers measured these photons and found that these photons show the same antihydrogen emissions as normal hydrogen atoms.
Takamasa Momose, principal investigator of the experiment, said: "Lyman-alpha conversion is the most basic and important conversion in conventional hydrogen atoms, and capturing the same conversion phenomenon in anti-hydrogen opens up a new era of anti-matter science!"
It is reported that researchers plan to use this method to cool anti-hydrogen. This will greatly improve the measurement accuracy of the antimatter experiment. In addition, researchers plan to use this method to test how antimatter and gravity interact.