Matter (blue) and antimatter (orange) particles are confined in a Penning-trap-like
field: the axial magnetic field forces opposite-charge particles into cyclotron orbits
that curve in opposite directions, while endcap electrodes bounce them slowly up and
down. When a particle meets its antiparticle, both vanish and two back-to-back γ-photons
fly outward — carrying away their combined rest-mass energy, exactly as CPT symmetry
requires.
r = mv / (qB) (Larmor / cyclotron radius)
e⁻ + e⁺ → 2γ, Eγ = mₑc² = 0.511 MeV each
E_total = 2mₑc² = 1.022 MeV per annihilation
- Particle pairs — target population of matter/antimatter particles the trap tries to maintain; annihilated pairs are replenished automatically.
- Magnetic field B — stronger field → tighter cyclotron orbits and faster rotation (r shrinks, ω grows), improving confinement.
- Thermal speed — raises particle velocity, which widens the orbit radius and the axial bounce amplitude.
- Annihilation toggle — turn pair-annihilation off to watch pure confinement with no losses.