Speaker
Description
Positronium (Ps), the bound state of an electron and its antiparticle, the positron, is a unique atomic system consisting purely of leptonic elementary particles. This characteristic makes Ps an ideal testing ground for quantum electrodynamics (QED)—one of the fundamental pillars of the Standard Model of particle physics—through the comparison of measured and calculated atomic properties, such as binding energy intervals. Traditionally, spectroscopic measurements have been limited in precision and accuracy by the high thermal motion of available Ps clouds. To address this, we developed a laser system whose temporal and spectral characteristics were specifically optimized for the unique properties of the Ps atom, and successfully realized laser cooling. In this presentation, we report on our laser cooling experiments and discuss current progress toward more advanced cooling and precision measurements enabled by these cold Ps atoms.
