Particle Traps: the World's Tiniest Accelerators
A single elementary particle, or a single ion, can be confined in a tiny accelerator called a particle trap. A single electron was held this way for more than ten months, and antiprotons for months. Mass spectroscopy of exquisite precision is possible with such systems. CERN's TRAP Collaboration thereby compared the charge-to-mass ratios of the antiproton and proton to a precision of 90 parts per trillion, by far the most stringent CPT test done with a baryon system. The important ratio of the masses of the electron and proton have been similarly measured, as have a variety of ions masses, and the neutron mass is most accurately known from such measurements. An introduction to particle traps and mass spectroscopy measurements will be provided.
