Svante researches antiatoms and antiions
After completing his PhD in Uppsala and later researching at Nordita in Copenhagen and Umeå University, he moved on to the University of Swansea, Wales. Eventually he returned to Sweden and Fysikum. He lives in Uppsala again and has two grown-up daughters who are studying biology and the history of ideas. “Since 2010, I have a lectureship at Fysikum and research on antiatoms and antiions. Many researchers are part of the international ALPHA collaboration, which have published an article in Nature Physics in January 2025.

"We build atoms of antimatter. For every particle there is an antiparticle. The purpose of the research is to make measurements to see if there is any difference between matter and antimatter. Previous results have indicated that antimatter falls downwards and, due to the gravitational force, it has the same direction."
The research team traps the antimatter in magnetic traps to study it over periods of 12 hours using laser light and other means. The result is a laser spectrum of anti-hydrogen atoms with comparisons to ordinary hydrogen atoms.
"We ask ourselves why we haven't found as much antimatter as matter, since they are created and destroyed in pairs. What we want to investigate is whether there is any difference between atoms and antiatoms, and we are therefore looking at the energy of different transitions between states for the antiatoms and comparing with measurements that have been made on ordinary atoms."
The current research grant from the Swedish Research Council is valid until 2025 when a new application is made for 2026 - 2030.
"We theorists work with data calculations and need to work together with experimentalists to test the theories.For a few weeks each year, I am at CERN to talk directly with the experimentalists."
Subject responsibility and senior lecturer at Fysikum
"I have a subject responsibility for doctoral studies and I am a senior lecturer in the course Internship in Physics. Besides that, I have also worked on a project for employment connections."
Svante's advice to physics students
"Go for what is fun even if there doesn't seem to be a profession in the end. If you don't, you will regret not taking the chance."
More information
Precision spectroscopy of the hyperfine components of the 1S–2S transition in antihydrogen
”Antihydrogen’s more than fine spectrum” by Masaki Hori
Particle physics: Antimatter falls just like ordinary matter - news article from Fysikum web
Internship in Physics, FK8026, 7.5 credits
The Alpha project (in English)
Last updated: January 17, 2025
Source: Gunilla Häggstrom, Communications Officer, Fysikum