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Superfluid confines exotic atoms without disrupting precision measurements

High-precision measurements of exotic atoms containing antimatter are shown to be equally precise when the atoms are immersed in superfluid helium. Such immersion could be used for other atoms in studies of dark matter.
  1. Yukari Matsuo

    1. Yukari Matsuo is in the Department of Advanced Sciences, Hosei University, Tokyo 184-8584, Japan.

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The structure and composition of matter can be revealed by examining how it interacts with light. Atoms absorb or emit a unique range of light frequencies appearing as lines on a spectrum, which can be measured with a technique known as laser spectroscopy. For isolated atoms, these lines are extremely narrow, offering a remarkable precision of up to 19 significant figures1. Confining atoms in fluid can make measurements more efficient by increasing the density of atoms, but it can also broaden and shift the spectral lines. Writing in Nature, Sótér et al.2 report a very narrow spectral line for an exotic form of helium engulfed in liquid helium, which might make such confinement useful for studies of the fundamental physics governing the subatomic Universe.

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Nature 603, 398-399 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00688-1

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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