Observation of magnetic flipping in single proton heralds high-precision studies into matter and antimatter

One of the greatest mysteries of modern physics is the imbalance of matter and antimatter in the Universe. As every particle is produced and destroyed in tandem with its antiparticle, which has an identical mass but opposite charge, scientists are baffled as to why our Universe is matter dominated. In a significant advance that could allow direct measurement of the most minute differences between a particle and its antiparticle—and therefore potentially explain this imbalance—an international collaboration co-led by Stefan Ulmer from the RIKEN Ulmer Initiative Research Unit has developed a method that now makes it possible to observe reorientation of the magnetic moment associated with a single proton.