Journal article
Four ppm measurement of the antihydrogen ground-state hyperfine splitting
,
W. Bertsche,
Nishant Bhatt,
G. Bonomi ,
A. Capra ,
I. Carli ,
C. L. Cesar ,
Michael Charlton,
April Cridland ,
A. Del Vincio,
D. Duque Quiceno ,
Stefan Eriksson ,
A. Evans,
J. Fajans ,
T. Friesen ,
M. C. Fujiwara,
Lukas Golino,
Maria Gomes Goncalves,
J. S. Hangst ,
M. E. Hayden,
P. Heidari,
D. Hodgkinson ,
Aled Isaac ,
S. A. Jones ,
S. Jonsell ,
Niels Madsen ,
V. R. Marshall,
J. T. K. McKenna,
T. Momose ,
J. Nauta ,
A. N. Oliveira ,
A. Powell ,
C. Ø. Rasmussen ,
Tom Robertson-Brown,
F. Robicheaux ,
R. L. Sacramento,
E. Sarid,
Joos Schoonwater,
D. M. Silveira,
J. Singh ,
G. Smith ,
C. So,
S. Stracka ,
J. Suh ,
A. G. Swadling,
T. D. Tharp,
Kurt Thompson,
R. I. Thompson,
E. Thorpe-Woods ,
A. J. Uribe Jimenez ,
M. Urioni ,
D. P. van de Werf ,
S. G. Wilson ,
P. Woosaree ,
J. S. Wurtele ,
(The ALPHA Collaboration),
C. L. Cesar,
A. Del Vincio,
D. P. van de Werf,
EDWARD THORPE-WOODS,
Dirk van der Werf
Nature, Volume: 653, Issue: 8116, Pages: 1022 - 1026
Swansea University Authors:
Christopher Baker , Nishant Bhatt, Michael Charlton, April Cridland , Stefan Eriksson , Lukas Golino, Maria Gomes Goncalves, Aled Isaac , Niels Madsen , Tom Robertson-Brown, Joos Schoonwater, Kurt Thompson, EDWARD THORPE-WOODS, Dirk van der Werf
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DOI (Published version): 10.1038/s41586-026-10556-x
Abstract
The hydrogen atom is a touchstone for the foundations, evolution and frontiers of quantum theory. Key spectral lines of this atom have been determined to remarkable precision. Our research focuses on the study of antihydrogen, the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen. We test fundamental symmetries of...
| Published in: | Nature |
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| ISSN: | 0028-0836 1476-4687 |
| Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2026
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa72005 |
| Abstract: |
The hydrogen atom is a touchstone for the foundations, evolution and frontiers of quantum theory. Key spectral lines of this atom have been determined to remarkable precision. Our research focuses on the study of antihydrogen, the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen. We test fundamental symmetries of nature (such as simultaneous charge conjugation, parity inversion, and time reversal or CPT symmetry) through precision comparisons of these atomic systems. Recent 1S–2S spectroscopic measurements on trapped antihydrogen have achieved relative precisions of parts per trillion. However, the ground-state hyperfine splitting, which is sensitive to the internal structure of the antiproton, has only been measured to 400 parts per million (ppm). Here we report a 4 ppm measurement of the antihydrogen ground-state hyperfine splitting energy a1S, advancing the state-of-the-art precision by two orders of magnitude. From microwave spectroscopy experiments with roughly 24,000 anti-atoms, we determine in a 1-T magnetic field, consistent with expectations for hydrogen. At this level, our measurement is sensitive to the internal structure of the antiproton, which contributes at about 40 ppm and is approaching the limit of existing theoretical analyses. The gains we report are the product of marked advances in magnetic trap field control, stabilization and characterization; anti-atom spin-state manipulation; and improved antihydrogen accumulation rate. |
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| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
CNPq, FAPERJ, RENAFAE (Brazil); NSERC, NRC/TRIUMF, EHPDS/EHDRS, CFI, DRAC (Canada); FNU (Nice Centre), Carlsberg Foundation (Denmark); STFC, EPSRC, the Royal Society and the Leverhulme Trust (the UK); DOE, NSF (the USA); ISF (Israel); and VR (Sweden) |
| Issue: |
8116 |
| Start Page: |
1022 |
| End Page: |
1026 |