Science · 2026-10-21 · Afternoon briefing
US physicists trap a single positron for months
A team of physicists at Northwestern University in Illinois has successfully trapped a single positron, the antimatter counterpart to an electron, holding it stable for months on end. The feat was accomplished using a device that generates electromagnetic fields, creating 'invisible walls' to confine the particle.
The achievement is considerable. According to Stefan Ulmer of Japan's RIKEN institute, trapping an antiparticle is 'extremely difficult.' The apparatus had to be maintained at a temperature only tens of a degree above absolute zero, and the positron could be disturbed by the slightest stray particle, burst of light, or vibration.
The research aims to provide insight into the universe's matter-antimatter imbalance and could yield one of the most precise measurements of a fundamental constant in physics. Lead researcher Gerald Gabrielse described observing the particle's 'quantum jumps' between energy states as a 'real kick.'
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