Antimatter atoms and ions

In this project I will study how antihydrogen atoms and ions can be used for high-precision tests of fundamental matter-antimatter symmetries. My work is theoretical, but closely connected to experiments.

I am a member of two international collaborations:- The ALPHA experiment that performs spectroscopy on trapped antihydrogen atoms, for tests of CPT symmetry- The GBAR experiment that aims to form the atomic antihydrogen cation and sympathetically cool it for antimatter gravity testsWith the possibility to trap ≈1000 antihydrogen atoms, and the recent achievement of laser cooling by ALPHA, the routes to more complex antimatter species is opening up, in particular the molecular antihydrogen anion is of interest.

I will also study wich processes may be practical in possible future experiments aiming to create and study such species.I have identified 5 subprojects:1) Simulations of laser cooling of Be+ ions, supporting efforts to sympathetically cool positrons in ALPHA.2) Calculations of cross sections for the formation of the atomic ion through charge exchange with positronium, giving production rates for GBAR.3) Simulations supporting efforts to accumulate more positrons in GBAR.4) Investigation of practical routes towards forming the antihydrogen molecular ion.5) A thorough mapping of the Antimatter Chemistry Network, including reaction paths between species built from antiprotons and positrons.