Physicists trap a single antimatter particle for months

A Northwestern University team led by Gerald Gabrielse held a single positron in a vacuum near absolute zero using a single-positron quantum cyclotron. The non-destructive method allows repeated measurements and could make comparisons of positron and electron magnetic properties about 30 times more precise.

• The positron was trapped for months at temperatures near absolute zero
• The single-positron quantum cyclotron controls quantum states without destroying the particle
• Magnetic measurements of antimatter could become about 30 times more precise
• No unexpected differences between positron and electron have been found yet