Dense antihydrogen: its production and storage to envision antimatter propulsion

Abstract

We discuss the possibility that dense antihydrogen could provide a path towards a mechanism for a deep space propulsion system. We concentrate at first, as an example, on Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) antihydrogen. In a Bose-Einstein Condensate, matter (or antimatter) is in a coherent state analogous to photons in a laser beam, and individual atoms lose their independent identity. This allows many atoms to be stored in a small volume. In the context of recent advances in producing and controlling BECs, as well as in making antihydrogen, this could potentially provide a revolutionary path towards the efficient storage of large quantities of antimatter, perhaps eventually as a cluster or solid.

Quenching of para-H2with an ultracold antihydrogen atomH¯1Sultanov1, Adhikari2, Guster3 2010Phys. Rev. A61230View full textAdd to dashboardCite

“…Some theoretical studies have been carried out for the H + H system at thermal energies using quantum-mechanical methods [21][22][23][24][25][26]. Also, discussions on the importance and applications for this system, especially in connection with Bose-Einstein condensation [27], ultracold collisions [16,22], and its static and dynamic properties [28], can be found in the literature.…”

The 4-particle hydrogen-antihydrogen system revisited

“…It is time to end the speculations, dreams and phantasies on H by physicists: patents on H-production and storage [30] as well as the prospect of using H-driven vehicles for deep space travelling, even appearing in refereed physics journals [31]. …”

Spectroscopy of free radicals and radical containing entrance-channel complexes in superfluid helium nanodroplets

“…Whereas the preparation of dense samples of spin-polarized hydrogen for energy storage has not been successful yet, these studies emerged into the quest for the experimental realization of Bose-Einstein condensation and yielded a whole new field in atomic and molecular physics [230,231]. Nowadays similar ideas are also discussed in the context of deep space propulsion systems based on antihydrogen [232].…”