Proton Transport from the Antimatter Factory of CERN

Proton Transport from the Antimatter Factory of CERN | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Proton Transport from the Antimatter Factory of CERN Christian Smorra, Marcel Leonhardt, Daniel Schweitzer, Fatma Abbass, and 20 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5627457/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 May, 2025 Read the published version in Nature → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The antiproton is a basic constituent of antimatter and required for stringent matter-antimatter comparisons to test the fundamental charge-parity-time (CPT) reversal invariance in the Standard Model of particle physics (1). Using low energy antiprotons, only available at the antimatter factory (AMF) located at CERN (2), such tests have been realized for example in the high-precision spectroscopy of antiprotonic atoms (3), and antihydrogen (4). In our cryogenic Penning-trap experiments (5), we measure the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons and conduct CPT tests comparing their magnetic moments with a precision of 1.5 parts per billion (6, 7), as well as the most precise test of CPT invariance in the baryon sector by comparing their charge-to-mass ratios to a relative uncertainty of 16 parts-per-trillion(8). Although innovative shielding systems have been implemented (9), our experiments are limited by magnetic field fluctuations imposed by the accelerators in the AMF. To push the limits of our measurements, we are advancing the relocation of antiprotons to dedicated precision laboratories. This work presents a critical milestone in this endeavor: the successful transport of a trapped proton cloud from the AMF using BASE-STEP (10) — a transportable, superconducting, persistent, autonomous, and open Penning-trap system. We transferred the trapped protons from our experimental area at the AMF onto a truck and transported them across CERN’s Meyrin site. We demonstrated loss-free proton relocation, sustaining autonomous operation without external power for four hours, thereby confirming the feasibility of transferring particles to low-noise laboratory environments. The transport range of this system can be extended using mobile power generators (11) to reach laboratories throughout Europe. Our achievement represents a breakthrough and a potential start of a new era in precision antimatter research by conducting antiproton spectroscopy in low-noise laboratories. It also enables transportation and offline studies of other exotic ions, such as highly-charged ions produced in accelerators (12) or high-end EBITs (13), and the charged antimatter ions H¯ + (14) and H¯2 (15) Physical sciences/Physics Physical sciences/Physics/Techniques and instrumentation Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 May, 2025 Read the published version in Nature → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5627457","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":391521124,"identity":"a79ba389-cd76-4fce-990a-b7809adf5f1c","order_by":0,"name":"Christian 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