1. |
- Thomas, HS, et al.
(författare)
-
- 2019
-
swepub:Mat__t
|
|
2. |
|
|
3. |
- Amole, C., et al.
(författare)
-
Experimental and computational study of the injection of antiprotons into a positron plasma for antihydrogen production
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Physics of Plasmas. - : AIP Publishing. - 1070-664X .- 1089-7674. ; 20:4, s. 043510-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the goals of synthesizing and trapping antihydrogen is to study the validity of charge-parity-time symmetry through precision spectroscopy on the anti-atoms, but the trapping yield achieved in recent experiments must be significantly improved before this can be realized. Antihydrogen atoms are commonly produced by mixing antiprotons and positrons stored in a nested Penning-Malmberg trap, which was achieved in ALPHA by an autoresonant excitation of the antiprotons, injecting them into the positron plasma. In this work, a hybrid numerical model is developed to simulate antiproton and positron dynamics during the mixing process. The simulation is benchmarked against other numerical and analytic models, as well as experimental measurements. The autoresonant injection scheme and an alternative scheme are compared numerically over a range of plasma parameters which can be reached in current and upcoming antihydrogen experiments, and the latter scheme is seen to offer significant improvement in trapping yield as the number of available antiprotons increases.
|
|
4. |
- Amole, C., et al.
(författare)
-
Resonant quantum transitions in trapped antihydrogen atoms
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 483:7390, s. 439-U86
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The hydrogen atom is one of the most important and influential model systems in modern physics. Attempts to understand its spectrum are inextricably linked to the early history and development of quantum mechanics. The hydrogen atom's stature lies in its simplicity and in the accuracy with which its spectrum can be measured(1) and compared to theory. Today its spectrum remains a valuable tool for determining the values of fundamental constants and for challenging the limits of modern physics, including the validity of quantum electrodynamics and-by comparison with measurements on its antimatter counterpart, antihydrogen-the validity of CPT (charge conjugation, parity and time reversal) symmetry. Here we report spectroscopy of a pure antimatter atom, demonstrating resonant quantum transitions in antihydrogen. We have manipulated the internal spin state(2,3) of antihydrogen atoms so as to induce magnetic resonance transitions between hyperfine levels of the positronic ground state. We used resonant microwave radiation to flip the spin of the positron in antihydrogen atoms that were magnetically trapped(4-6) in the ALPHA apparatus. The spin flip causes trapped anti-atoms to be ejected from the trap. We look for evidence of resonant interaction by comparing the survival rate of trapped atoms irradiated with microwaves on-resonance to that of atoms subjected to microwaves that are off-resonance. In one variant of the experiment, we detect 23 atoms that survive in 110 trapping attempts with microwaves off-resonance (0.21 per attempt), and only two atoms that survive in 103 attempts with microwaves on-resonance (0.02 per attempt). We also describe the direct detection of the annihilation of antihydrogen atoms ejected by the microwaves.
|
|
5. |
- Amole, C., et al.
(författare)
-
Silicon vertex detector upgrade in the ALPHA experiment
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 732, s. 134-136
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Silicon Vertex Detector (SVD) is the main diagnostic tool in the ALPHA-experiment. It provides precise spatial and timing information of antiproton (antihydrogen) annihilation events (vertices), and most importantly, the SVD is capable of directly identifying and analysing single annihilation events, thereby forming the basis of ALPHA's analysis. This paper describes the ALPHA SVD and its upgrade, installed in the ALPHA's new neutral atom trap.
|
|
6. |
- Amole, C., et al.
(författare)
-
An experimental limit on the charge of antihydrogen
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 5, s. 3955-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The properties of antihydrogen are expected to be identical to those of hydrogen, and any differences would constitute a profound challenge to the fundamental theories of physics. The most commonly discussed antiatom- based tests of these theories are searches for antihydrogen- hydrogen spectral differences (tests of CPT (charge- parity- time) invariance) or gravitational differences (tests of the weak equivalence principle). Here we, the ALPHA Collaboration, report a different and somewhat unusual test of CPT and of quantum anomaly cancellation. A retrospective analysis of the influence of electric fields on antihydrogen atoms released from the ALPHA trap finds a mean axial deflection of 4.1 +/- 3.4mm for an average axial electric field of 0.51Vmm1. Combined with extensive numerical modelling, this measurement leads to a bound on the charge Qe of antihydrogen of Q (+/- 1.3 +/- 1.1 +/- 0.4)10 8. Here, e is the unit charge, and the errors are from statistics and systematic effects.
|
|
7. |
- Amole, C., et al.
(författare)
-
Autoresonant-spectrometric determination of the residual gas composition in the ALPHA experiment apparatus
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Review of Scientific Instruments. - : AIP Publishing. - 0034-6748 .- 1089-7623. ; 84:6, s. 065110-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Knowledge of the residual gas composition in the ALPHA experiment apparatus is important in our studies of antihydrogen and nonneutral plasmas. A technique based on autoresonant ion extraction from an electrostatic potential well has been developed that enables the study of the vacuum in our trap. Computer simulations allow an interpretation of our measurements and provide the residual gas composition under operating conditions typical of those used in experiments to produce, trap, and study antihydrogen. The methods developed may also be applicable in a range of atomic and molecular trap experiments where Penning-Malmberg traps are used and where access is limited.
|
|
8. |
- Amole, C., et al.
(författare)
-
In situ electromagnetic field diagnostics with an electron plasma in a Penning-Malmberg trap
- 2014
-
Ingår i: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 16, s. 013037-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We demonstrate a novel detection method for the cyclotron resonance frequency of an electron plasma in a Penning-Malmberg trap. With this technique, the electron plasma is used as an in situ diagnostic tool for the measurement of the static magnetic field and the microwave electric field in the trap. The cyclotron motion of the electron plasma is excited by microwave radiation and the temperature change of the plasma is measured non-destructively by monitoring the plasma's quadrupole mode frequency. The spatially resolved microwave electric field strength can be inferred from the plasma temperature change and the magnetic field is found through the cyclotron resonance frequency. These measurements were used extensively in the recently reported demonstration of resonant quantum interactions with antihydrogen.
|
|
9. |
- Amole, C., et al.
(författare)
-
The ALPHA antihydrogen trapping apparatus
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 735, s. 319-340
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ALPHA collaboration, based at CERN, has recently succeeded in confining cold antihydrogen atoms in a magnetic minimum neutral atom trap and has performed the first study of a resonant transition of the anti-atoms. The ALPHA apparatus will be described herein, with emphasis on the structural aspects, diagnostic methods and techniques that have enabled antihydrogen trapping and experimentation to be achieved.
|
|
10. |
- Amole, C., et al.
(författare)
-
Discriminating between antihydrogen and mirror-trapped antiprotons in a minimum-B trap
- 2012
-
Ingår i: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 14, s. 015010-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, antihydrogen atoms were trapped at CERN in a magnetic minimum (minimum-B) trap formed by superconducting octupole and mirror magnet coils. The trapped antiatoms were detected by rapidly turning off these magnets, thereby eliminating the magnetic minimum and releasing any antiatoms contained in the trap. Once released, these antiatoms quickly hit the trap wall, whereupon the positrons and antiprotons in the antiatoms annihilate. The antiproton annihilations produce easily detected signals; we used these signals to prove that we trapped antihydrogen. However, our technique could be confounded by mirror-trapped antiprotons, which would produce seemingly identical annihilation signals upon hitting the trap wall. In this paper, we discuss possible sources of mirror-trapped antiprotons and show that antihydrogen and antiprotons can be readily distinguished, often with the aid of applied electric fields, by analyzing the annihilation locations and times. We further discuss the general properties of antiproton and antihydrogen trajectories in this magnetic geometry, and reconstruct the antihydrogen energy distribution from the measured annihilation time history.
|
|
11. |
- Charman, A. E., et al.
(författare)
-
Description and first application of a new technique to measure the gravitational mass of antihydrogen
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Physicists have long wondered whether the gravitational interactions between matter and antimatter might be different from those between matter and itself. Although there are many indirect indications that no such differences exist and that the weak equivalence principle holds, there have been no direct, free-fall style, experimental tests of gravity on antimatter. Here we describe a novel direct test methodology; we search for a propensity for anti-hydrogen atoms to fall downward when released from the ALPHA antihydrogen trap. In the absence of systematic errors, we can reject ratios of the gravitational to inertial mass of antihydrogen 475 at a statistical significance level of 5%; worst-case systematic errors increase the minimum rejection ratio to 110. A similar search places somewhat tighter bounds on a negative gravitational mass, that is, on antigravity. This methodology, coupled with ongoing experimental improvements, should allow us to bound the ratio within the more interesting near equivalence regime.
|
|