Particle accelerators showed us a completely new world of particles that make up our universe. Sadly, they are also huge and really expensive. But maybe that’s about to change as scientists theorize about a new way how to accelerate antimatter particles with more accessible equipment and using much less space.

The E989 storage-ring magnet at Fermilab By Glukicov [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Nowadays, if you really want to be at the forefront of particle physics you need something like the Large Hardron Collider (LHC) or the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). LHC accelerates particles to near light-speed in long tunnels and collides them to create new particles and types of matter. LCLS is a giant powerful x-ray laser that can capture the nano-world, create strange types of matter or even create a tiny star for a moment.

None of these technologies are really accessible. In fact, since we first stared using them in the fifties not much about them has really changed. Plus they are really expensive not only to build but also to run and maybe are even getting close to their limits. So to find new discoveries that would revolutionize our understanding of physics we have to create completely new devices. And if these devices would be accessible to laboratories all around the world for a low cost that would only increase our odds of discovering something amazing.

To develop such devices the scientists at the Imperial College London decided to use simulations and computer models. The result in a new method of accelerating antimatter. And the scientists say it need only a few centimeters to accelerate to incredible speeds – just compare that to the many kilometers of our current accelerators. It does require about 25 meters squared for the laser but that isn’t something many laboratories can’t afford.

So… how does it work? The new method uses a laser to fire a beam into a plasma cloud. During that positrons get to create and are accelerated into the beam. And when the beam meets a beam of electrons they annihilate. During that many types of exotic particles like the famous Higgs-Boson get created more often than in the LHC. The bonus that you need about a thousand times less space is just a cherry on top.

This could dramatically decrease the costs both in terms of the space needed and money. That for which you now need kilometers squared of space could be done in your average university laboratory.

Sources:

• https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/187527/mini-antimatter-accelerator-could-rival-likes/
• https://journals.aps.org/prab/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.21.040001

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