Studying antimatter

Antiparticles are a crucial ingredient of particle physics and cosmology. Almost 80 years after Dirac’s bold prediction and the subsequent discovery of the positron in 1932, antiparticles are still in the spotlight of modern physics. This lecture for non-specialists will start with a theoretical and historical introduction. Why are antiparticles needed? When and how were they discovered? Why is the (CPT) symmetry between particles and antiparticles so fundamental? What is their role in cosmology? The second part will give an overview about the many aspects of antiparticles in experimental physics: their production, their use in colliders; as a probe inside atoms or nuclei; or as an object to study fundamental symmetries. In the third part, the lecture will focus on results and challenges of the “antimatter” programme at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD), with special emphasis on antihydrogen production, trapping and precision measurements.