First laser-controlled antihydrogen production -: art. no. 263401

Lasers are used for the first time to control the production of antihydrogen ((H) over bar). Sequential, resonant charge exchange collisions are involved in a method that is very different than the only other method used so far-producing slow (H) over bar during positron cooling of antiprotons in a nested Penning trap. Two attractive features are that the laser frequencies determine the (H) over bar binding energy, and that the production of extremely cold (H) over bar should be possible in principle-likely close to what is needed for confinement in a trap, as needed for precise laser spectroscopy.