Special Seminar: "Implications of a matter-antimatter mass asymmetry in Penning-trap experiments" (M.Sc. Ting Cheng)
- Date: Dec 15, 2023
- Time: 01:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: M.Sc. Ting Cheng
- Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, Germany
- Location: Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
- Room: B 0.32
The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, being a local, unitary and Lorentz-invariant quantum field theory, remains symmetric under the combined action of Charge, Parity, and Time Reversal (CPT) symmetry. This automatically implies that fundamental properties of particles and antiparticles should be equal in magnitude. While there are numerous experiments testing CPT symmetry, it is not clear how these tests are related with one another, and hence, if there is a reasonable way to compare bounds arising from them.
In this talk, I will focus on the Penning-trap experiment testing the charge-to-mass ratio of protons and antiprotons, and compare it with other experiments which also test matter-antimatter mass asymmetry. Using a simple yet powerful argument of mass decomposition of hadrons, I will show that bounds on quark-antiquark mass differences from kaon oscillations are way beyond the reach of Penning-trap experiments. Finally, I will lay out a roadmap to discuss possible reformulations of our understanding of the SM in the case of a discovery of CPT violation by these precision experiments.