On Monday, December 19, 2016, the paper titled Observation of the 1S-2S transition in trapped antihydrogen was published in Nature as an accelerated article preview. This highly anticipated observation, made by the ALPHA collaboration, has been considered the “Holy Grail” of antimatter research since physicists developped plans to trap and study antimatter over two decades ago. It is a historic milestone both in experimental antimatter physics, and in the study of atomic systems.
This highly anticipated observation has been considered the “Holy Grail” of antimatter research.
Over the next couple of days I will post my best descriptions of what makes antimatter special, what the 1S-2S transition is, and why we chose to measure it. For now, I just want to share this fantastic news and congratulate my colleagues celebrating/drinking champagne all over the world; in Canada, Brazil, the US, the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and Japan. I am proud to be a part of the ALPHA collaboration, and I am humbled to be included on this paper. It is the result of decades of hard work by some of the most driven and passionate physicists I’ve ever met. Congratulations, ALPHA!
Melissa Valdez, MSc 