The gravitational interaction
of antimatter with matter or antimatter has not been conclusively observed
by physicists. While the consensus among physicists is that gravity will
attract both matter and antimatter at the same rate that matter attracts matter,
there is a strong desire to confirm this experimentally.
Antimatter's rarity and tendency to annihilate when brought into contact with matter makes its study a technically demanding task. Most methods for the creation of antimatter (specifically antihydrogen) result in high-energy particles and atoms of high kinetic energy, which are unsuitable for gravity-related study. In recent years, first ALPHA and then ATRAP have trapped antihydrogen atoms at CERN; in 2012 ALPHA used such atoms to set the first free-fall loose bounds on the gravitational interaction of antimatter with matter, measured to within ±7500% of ordinary gravity, not enough for a clear scientific statement about the sign of gravity acting on antimatter. Future experiments need to be performed with higher precision, either with beams of antihydrogen (AEGIS or GBAR) or with trapped antihydrogen (ALPHA).
Thus far, there are three hypotheses about how antimatter gravitationally interacts with normal matter:
One source of experimental evidence in favor of normal gravity was the observation of neutrinos from Supernova 1987A. In 1987, three neutrino detectors around the world simultaneously observed a cascade of neutrinos emanating from a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Although the supernova happened about 164,000 light years away, both neutrinos and antineutrinos may have been detected virtually simultaneously. If both were actually observed, then any difference in the gravitational interaction would have to be very small. However, neutrino detectors cannot distinguish perfectly between neutrinos and antineutrinos; in fact, the two may be identical. Some physicists conservatively estimate that there is less than a 10% chance that no regular neutrinos were observed at all. Others estimate even lower probabilities, some as low as 1%. Unfortunately, this accuracy is unlikely to be improved by duplicating the experiment any time soon. The last known supernova to occur at such a close range prior to Supernova 1987A was around 1867.
Fairbank's experiments
Physicist William Fairbank attempted a laboratory experiment to directly measure the gravitational acceleration of both electrons and positrons. However, their charge-to-mass ratio is so large that electromagnetic effects overwhelmed the experiment.
It is difficult to directly observe gravitational forces at the particle level. For charged particles, the electromagnetic force overwhelms the much weaker gravitational interaction. Even antiparticles in neutral antimatter, such as antihydrogen, must be kept separate from their counterparts in the matter that forms the experimental equipment, which requires strong electromagnetic fields. These fields, e.g. in the form of atomic traps, exert forces on these antiparticles which easily overwhelm the gravitational force of Earth and nearby test masses. Since all production methods for antiparticles result in high-energy antimatter particles, the necessary cooling for observation of gravitational effects in a laboratory environment requires very elaborate experimental techniques and very careful control of the trapping fields.
Cold neutral antihydrogen experiments
Since 2010 the production of cold antihydrogen has become possible at the Antiproton Decelerator at CERN. Antihydrogen, which is electrically neutral, should make it possible to directly measure the gravitational attraction of antimatter particles to the matter Earth. In 2013, experiments on antihydrogen atoms released from the ALPHA trap set direct, i.e. freefall, coarse limits on antimatter gravity. These limits were coarse, with a relative precision of ± 100%, thus far from a clear statement even for the sign of gravity acting on antimatter. Future experiments at CERN with beams of antihydrogen, such as AEGIS and GBAR, or with trapped antihydrogen such as ALPHA, have to improve the sensitivity to make a clear, scientific statement about gravity on antimatter.
Antimatter's rarity and tendency to annihilate when brought into contact with matter makes its study a technically demanding task. Most methods for the creation of antimatter (specifically antihydrogen) result in high-energy particles and atoms of high kinetic energy, which are unsuitable for gravity-related study. In recent years, first ALPHA and then ATRAP have trapped antihydrogen atoms at CERN; in 2012 ALPHA used such atoms to set the first free-fall loose bounds on the gravitational interaction of antimatter with matter, measured to within ±7500% of ordinary gravity, not enough for a clear scientific statement about the sign of gravity acting on antimatter. Future experiments need to be performed with higher precision, either with beams of antihydrogen (AEGIS or GBAR) or with trapped antihydrogen (ALPHA).
Three Hypotheses
Thus far, there are three hypotheses about how antimatter gravitationally interacts with normal matter:
- Normal gravity: The standard assumption is that
gravitational interactions of matter and antimatter are identical.
- Antigravity: Some authors argue that antimatter repels
matter with the same magnitude as matter attracts itself.
- Gravivector and graviscalar: Later difficulties in creating quantum
gravity theories have led to the idea that antimatter may react with a
slightly different magnitude.
Experiments
One source of experimental evidence in favor of normal gravity was the observation of neutrinos from Supernova 1987A. In 1987, three neutrino detectors around the world simultaneously observed a cascade of neutrinos emanating from a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Although the supernova happened about 164,000 light years away, both neutrinos and antineutrinos may have been detected virtually simultaneously. If both were actually observed, then any difference in the gravitational interaction would have to be very small. However, neutrino detectors cannot distinguish perfectly between neutrinos and antineutrinos; in fact, the two may be identical. Some physicists conservatively estimate that there is less than a 10% chance that no regular neutrinos were observed at all. Others estimate even lower probabilities, some as low as 1%. Unfortunately, this accuracy is unlikely to be improved by duplicating the experiment any time soon. The last known supernova to occur at such a close range prior to Supernova 1987A was around 1867.
Fairbank's experiments
Physicist William Fairbank attempted a laboratory experiment to directly measure the gravitational acceleration of both electrons and positrons. However, their charge-to-mass ratio is so large that electromagnetic effects overwhelmed the experiment.
It is difficult to directly observe gravitational forces at the particle level. For charged particles, the electromagnetic force overwhelms the much weaker gravitational interaction. Even antiparticles in neutral antimatter, such as antihydrogen, must be kept separate from their counterparts in the matter that forms the experimental equipment, which requires strong electromagnetic fields. These fields, e.g. in the form of atomic traps, exert forces on these antiparticles which easily overwhelm the gravitational force of Earth and nearby test masses. Since all production methods for antiparticles result in high-energy antimatter particles, the necessary cooling for observation of gravitational effects in a laboratory environment requires very elaborate experimental techniques and very careful control of the trapping fields.
Cold neutral antihydrogen experiments
Since 2010 the production of cold antihydrogen has become possible at the Antiproton Decelerator at CERN. Antihydrogen, which is electrically neutral, should make it possible to directly measure the gravitational attraction of antimatter particles to the matter Earth. In 2013, experiments on antihydrogen atoms released from the ALPHA trap set direct, i.e. freefall, coarse limits on antimatter gravity. These limits were coarse, with a relative precision of ± 100%, thus far from a clear statement even for the sign of gravity acting on antimatter. Future experiments at CERN with beams of antihydrogen, such as AEGIS and GBAR, or with trapped antihydrogen such as ALPHA, have to improve the sensitivity to make a clear, scientific statement about gravity on antimatter.
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