{"id":90008,"date":"2024-02-23T20:44:13","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T15:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=90008"},"modified":"2024-02-24T19:30:33","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T14:00:33","slug":"laser-cooling-of-positronium","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/laser-cooling-of-positronium","title":{"rendered":"Laser Cooling of Positronium Achieved by CERN"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Context:\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the recently published paper in the Physical Review Letters, the AE\u00afgIS team has described the laser cooling of Positronium atoms achieved from a Broad-based laser system.<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.8983%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #000000;\"><b>Positronium (an electron orbiting a positron)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Positronium is a fundamental atom that comprises <\/span><b>an electron (e^-)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and a <\/span><b>positron (e^+).<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its <\/span><b>mass is twice the electron mass<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and enjoys the unique distinction of being <\/span><b>a pure leptonic atom\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has a very short life and\u00a0 it annihilates with a <\/span><b>half-life of 142 nano-seconds.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Importance:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It has a <\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/hydrogen-for-heritage-scheme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>hydrogen<\/b><\/a><b>-like system <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but with halved frequencies for excitation, making it a great contender for performing tests of fundamental theories in physics.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>International Collaboration of Physicists Achieves First Successful Laser Cooled Positronium<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The experiment was <\/span><b>performed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, (CERN) Antimatter Factory in Geneva.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conducted by:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> An <\/span><b>international team of Physicists <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">representing 19 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/upsc-notes\/european-union\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">European<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and one Indian research group <\/span><b>comprising the Antihydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEgIS) collaboration <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">demonstrated the\u00a0 laser cooling of Positronium.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-90101\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/untitled-2024-02-24t112610366-65d9b9dc7a8de.webp\" alt=\"Positronium\" width=\"402\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/untitled-2024-02-24t112610366-65d9b9dc7a8de.webp 1280w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/untitled-2024-02-24t112610366-65d9b9dc7a8de-300x215.webp 300w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/untitled-2024-02-24t112610366-65d9b9dc7a8de-1024x734.webp 1024w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/untitled-2024-02-24t112610366-65d9b9dc7a8de-768x551.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 402px) 100vw, 402px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Laser Cooling<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Laser cooling is a technique in atomic physics and quantum optics that can<\/span><b> slow down and trap <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/ncert-notes\/atomic-structure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>atomic and molecular particles<\/b><\/a><b>.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The method is based on the <\/span><b>interaction between light and charged matter,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and it exploits the way in which <\/span><b>photons transfer momentum to atoms.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table style=\"width: 100.201%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>European Council for Nuclear Research CERN:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Founded in 1954,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the CERN laboratory sits astride the Franco-Swiss border near<\/span><b> Geneva.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Member states: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>23 members with India being the associate member<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Aim: T<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">o\u00a0 study the basic <\/span><b>constituents of matter ie. <\/b><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/ncert-notes\/states-of-matter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>fundamental particles<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and\u00a0 to advance the boundaries of human knowledge by delving into the smallest building blocks of our universe.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>CERN&#8217;s main area of research is particle physics.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Instruments: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0CERN uses\u00a0 purpose-built <\/span><b>particle accelerators and detectors.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Working Principle Of Laser Cooling<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is based on<\/span><b> the absorption and re-emission of photons.\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/ncert-notes\/atoms-and-molecules-dalton-theory\/#:~:text=Atom%3A%20All%20matter%20is%20made,in%20mass%20and%20chemical%20properties.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">atom<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> absorbs a photon, its energy is increased, and it moves to a higher energy level.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it later re-emits the photon, it loses energy and falls back to a lower energy level.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key to laser cooling is to ensure that the atom always re-emits the photon in a direction opposite to its motion.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that, on average, the atom loses more momentum to the photons than it gains, and slows down as a result. This<\/span><b> allows atoms to be captured in optical traps.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is normally done using a<\/span><b> narrow-band laser, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which emits light with a small frequency range.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>The AEgIS team however used a broad-band laser <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(~380 Kelvin (106.85 degrees Celsius) to ~170 Kelvin (minus 103.15 degrees Celsius), using a 70-nanosecond pulsed alexandrite-based laser system<\/span><b>) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in their experiment which helped cool the positronium sample.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The experiment was carried out<\/span><b> without applying any external electric or magnetic field<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, simplifying the experimental setup and extending the positronium lifetime.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Significance Of Laser Cooling<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Advanced studies in Particle Physics: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0It will help to improve understanding of the physical nature, comprising matter and anti-matter facilitated through the interaction between light and charged matter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Formation of hydrogen (a positron orbiting an antiproton): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is an important Precursor experiment to the <\/span><b>formation of anti-hydrogen <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and the measurement of Earth\u2019s gravitational acceleration on antihydrogen.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Open New Avenues:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It could open prospects to <\/span><b>produce a gamma-ray laser that would eventually allow researchers a look inside the atomic nucleus <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and may have probable applications beyond physics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>A ground for Future experiments:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> To\u00a0 perform spectroscopic comparisons required for the <\/span><b>Quantum Electrodynamics (QED),<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the study of the light and its interaction with charged matter, and a possible degenerate gas of Positronium could be achieved.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>New possibilities for antimatter research: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0It will allow high-precision <\/span><b>measurements of the properties and gravitational behaviour of the simple matter\u2013antimatter system<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which could reveal newer physics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bose\u2013Einstein condensate: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also allows the <\/span><b>production of a positronium<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/satyendra-nath-bose\/#:~:text=Bose%2DEinstein%20Condensate%3A%20It%20predicted,the%20Fifth%20state%20of%20matter.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Bose\u2013Einstein condensate<\/b><\/a><b>,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in which all constituents occupy the same quantum state.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>A Bose-Einstein Condensate of Antimatter: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It would be a tool for fundamental and applied research.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such a condensate has been<\/span><b> proposed as a candidate to produce coherent gamma-ray light via the matter-antimatter annihilation of its constituents \u2013<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> laser-like light made up of monochromatic waves that have a constant phase difference between them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<span class=\"vc_button\"><b>Also Read: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/helium-star\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Astronomers Discovers The Small, Hot Helium Star<\/span><\/a><\/span>\n<p><b>News Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/technology\/science\/in-a-first-cern-scientists-carry-out-laser-cooling-of-positronium-9176208\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>The Indian Express<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100.235%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 36px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 1884.72%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 36px;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Must Read<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 54.4983%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/ncert-notes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCERT Notes For UPSC<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 1830.23%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/daily-current-affairs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UPSC Daily Current Affairs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 54.4983%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/blogs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UPSC Blogs<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 1830.23%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/editorial-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UPSC Daily Editorials<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 54.4983%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/quiz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daily Current Affairs Quiz<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 1830.23%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/mains-answer-writing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daily Main Answer Writing<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 54.4983%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/mains-previous-year-papers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 1830.23%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; height: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/upsc-test-series-courses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UPSC Test Series 2024<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the recently published paper in the Physical Review Letters, the AE\u00afgIS team has described the laser cooling of Positronium atoms achieved from a Broad-based laser system<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"paper-wise":[2089],"subject":[2092],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/90008"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/current-affairs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90008"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/90008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90201,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/90008\/revisions\/90201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90008"},{"taxonomy":"paper-wise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper-wise?post=90008"},{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=90008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}