Implications of a matter-antimatter mass asymmetry in Penning-trap experiments

Abstract

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, being a local, unitary and Lorentz-invariant quantum field theory, remains symmetric under the combined action of Charge, Parity, and Time Reversal (CPT) symmetry. This automatically implies that fundamental properties of particles and antiparticles should be equal in magnitude. These fundamental tenets of the CPT principle have been put to stringent tests in recent Penning-trap experiments, where the matter-antimatter mass asymmetry has been measured. In light of these recent advances, we compare the bounds arising on CPT invariance from kaon systems with those from Penning-trap experiments. Using a simple yet powerful argument of mass decomposition of hadrons, we show that bounds on quark-antiquark mass differences from kaon oscillations are way beyond the reach of Penning-trap experiments. We lay out a roadmap to discuss possible reformulations of our understanding of the SM in the case of a discovery of CPT violation by these precision experiments.

Keywords

• CPT violation
• Precision experiments