Process for the production of antihydrogen

摘要

The present invention provides a process for the production of antihydrogen, comprising the steps of: (i) exciting alkali atoms to a Rydberg state; (ii) charge-exchanging the excited alkali atoms with positrons to produce Rydberg-state positronium; and (iii) charge exchanging the Rydberg-state positronium with antiprotons to produce Rydberg-state antihydrogen. Preferably, the Rydberg-state antihydrogen is permitted to decay to ground-state antihydrogen which can be trapped in a magnetic trap.