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Nuclear physics

The study of the journey of cosmic antimatter

Nature Physics volume 19, pages 13–14 (2023)Cite this article

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A potential observation of low-energy antihelium-3 nuclei would have profound impacts on our understanding of the Galaxy. Experiments at particle colliders help us understand how cosmic antimatter travels over long distances before reaching Earth.

At the Large Hadron Collider, \({}^{3}\overline {{{{\mathrm{He}}}}}\) nuclei are produced abundantly in high-energy collisions. The ALICE Collaboration investigated both proton–proton and lead–lead collisions at centre of mass energies per nucleon pair in the TeV range. After being produced, the \({}^{3}\overline {{{{\mathrm{He}}}}}\) nuclei fly away from the collision zone and leave behind detectable trails when passing through the detector. Eventually all antimatter nuclei annihilate in interactions with the detector material. The ALICE Collaboration used two methods to evaluate the cross section. In their first approach, they compared the yield of \({}^{3}\overline {{{{\mathrm{He}}}}}\) to that of 3He nuclei, mapping it to the cross section required to produce the measured \({}^3\overline {{{{\mathrm{He}}}}} /^{3}{{{\mathrm{He}}}}\) ratio in simulations. In their second approach, they compared the yield of \({}^{3}\overline {{{{\mathrm{He}}}}}\) nuclei seen by two of their sub-detectors, again mapping it to the corresponding cross section.

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Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of a \({}^{3}\overline {{{{\mathrm{He}}}}}\) nuclei travelling through the Galaxy.

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  1. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA

    Aihong Tang

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  1. Aihong Tang
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Correspondence to Aihong Tang.

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Tang, A. The study of the journey of cosmic antimatter. Nat. Phys. 19, 13–14 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01821-7

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