ANTI-ATOM

This research project, which began in February 2019, is funded by a European Research Council grant. The project proposes to develop theory and state-of-the art computational methodologies to describe low-energy positron and positronium interactions

Positrons are the simplest form of antimatter. Their ability to annihilate with electrons, producing characteristic gamma rays, gives them important use in medicine via positron-emission tomography (PET), diagnostics of industrially-important materials, and in elucidating astrophysical phenomena. The positron-atom system is a strongly correlated one, and its description is a challenging many-body problem. The ANTI-ATOM project will tackle this problem, aiming to provide the basic understanding required to interpret and develop the fundamental experiments, antimatter-based materials science techniques, and wider technologies, e.g., PET. Moreover, the new computational methodologies that will be developed will be more generally applicable, enabling new calculations of other properties and processes involving many-electron atoms, molecules and real materials.

 

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Dr Green is a physicist whose main interest is in developing theoretical and computational approaches to describe quantum many-body processes, most notably antimatter interactions with matter. Dr Green is Principal Investigator on the European Research Council Starting Grant project “ANTI-ATOM: Many-body theory (MBT) of antimatter interactions with atoms, molecules and condensed matter”.