Overview

• CERN’s BASE collaboration induced a single antiproton to oscillate coherently between spin states for 50 seconds, marking the first antimatter qubit.
• The Nature paper details coherent quantum transition spectroscopy on a solitary antiproton, overcoming decoherence that limited earlier measurements.
• Spokesperson Stefan Ulmer said the technique could boost antiproton magnetic moment precision by a factor of 10 to 100 in future experiments.
• Researchers achieved coherence by suppressing magnetic field fluctuations in a dual Penning trap system at CERN’s Antimatter Factory.
• The forthcoming BASE-STEP system will move antiprotons to low-noise facilities in hopes of extending coherence toward 500 seconds for deeper CPT symmetry investigations.