0000000000006970
AUTHOR
Paul Indelicato
Accumulation of positrons from a LINAC based source
International audience; The GBAR experiment aims to measure the gravitational acceleration of antihydrogen H̅. It will use H̅+ ions formed by the interaction of antiprotons with a dense positronium cloud, which will require about 1010 positrons to produce one H̅+. We present the first results on the positron accumulation, reaching 3.8±0.4×108 e+ collected in 560 s.
Laser spectroscopy of the (1s(2)2s2p) P-3(0)-P-3(1) level splitting in Be-like krypton
15th International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions, HCI2010, Fudan Univ, Shanghai, PEOPLES R CHINA, AUG 29-SEP 03, 2010; International audience; Heavy few-electron ions, such as He-, Li- and Be-like ions, are ideal atomic systems to study the effects of correlation, relativity and quantum electrodynamics. Very recently, theoretical and experimental studies of these species achieved a considerable improvement in accuracy. Be-like ions are interesting because their first excited state, i.e. (1s(2)2s2p) P-3(0), has an almost infinite lifetime (tau(0)) in the absence of nuclear spin (I), as it can only decay by a two-photon E1M1 transition to the (1s(2)2s(2)) S-1(0) ground stat…
A pulsed high-voltage decelerator system to deliver low-energy antiprotons
International audience; The GBAR (Gravitational Behavior of Antihydrogen at Rest) experiment at CERN requires efficient deceleration of 100 keV antiprotons provided by the new ELENA synchrotron ring to synthesize antihydrogen. This is accomplished using electrostatic deceleration optics and a drift tube that is designed to switch from -99 kV to ground when the antiproton bunch is inside – essentially a charged particle “elevator” – producing a 1 keV pulse. We describe the simulation, design, construction and successful testing of the decelerator device at -92 kV on-line with antiprotons from ELENA.
Positron production using a 9 MeV electron linac for the GBAR experiment
For the GBAR (Gravitational Behaviour of Antihydrogen at Rest) experiment at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator (AD) facility we have constructed a source of slow positrons, which uses a low-energy electron linear accelerator (linac). The driver linac produces electrons of 9 MeV kinetic energy that create positrons from bremsstrahlung-induced pair production. Staying below 10 MeV ensures no persistent radioactive activation in the target zone and that the radiation level outside the biological shield is safe for public access. An annealed tungsten-mesh assembly placed directly behind the target acts as a positron moderator. The system produces $5\times10^7$ slow positrons per second, a performan…
The $\mathsf{g_{\scriptscriptstyle J}}$ -factor in the ground state of Ca $^\mathsf{+}$
We have determined the $g_{\scriptscriptstyle J}$ -factor of the Ca + ion in the electronic 4S1/2 ground state on a cloud of ions confined in a Penning trap with a superimposed magnetic field of 1.43 T. We use a c.w. laser to prepare a Zeeman substate by optical pumping and induce $\Delta m_J=1$ transitions by a resonant microwave field at 40 GHz. Resonance is detected by a change in the fluorescence intensity originating from the ion cloud. We obtain a full width in the resonance of a few kHz and the fractional uncertainty of the line center, taking the average of several measurements, was 4 x 10-8. After calibrating the magnetic field by the cyclotron frequency of electrons stored in the …
Development of a PbWO 4 detector for single-shot positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy at the GBAR experiment
International audience; We have developed a PbWO 4 (PWO) detector with a large dynamic range to measure the intensity of a positron beam and the absolute density of the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) cloud it creates. A simulation study shows that a setup based on such detectors may be used to determine the angular distribution of the emission and reflection of o-Ps to reduce part of the uncertainties of the measurement. These will allow to improve the precision in the measurement of the cross section for the (anti) hydrogen formation by (anti) proton-positronium charge exchange and to optimize the yield of antihydrogen ion which is an essential parameter in the GBAR experiment.
Nuclear structure with radioactive muonic atoms
Muonic atoms have been used to extract the most accurate nuclear charge radii based on the detection of X-rays from the muonic cascades. Most stable and a few unstable isotopes have been investigated with muonic atom spectroscopy techniques. A new research project recently started at the Paul Scherrer Institut aims to extend the highresolution muonic atom spectroscopy for the precise determination of nuclear charge radii and other nuclear structure properties of radioactive isotopes. The challenge to combine the high-energy muon beam with small quantity of stopping mass is being addressed by developing the concept of stopping the muon in a high-density, a high-pressure hydrogen cell and sub…
The next generation of laser spectroscopy experiments using light muonic atoms
Precision spectroscopy of light muonic atoms provides unique information about the atomic and nuclear structure of these systems and thus represents a way to access fundamental interactions, properties and constants. One application comprises the determination of absolute nuclear charge radii with unprecedented accuracy from measurements of the 2S - 2P Lamb shift. Here, we review recent results of nuclear charge radii extracted from muonic hydrogen and helium spectroscopy and present experiment proposals to access light muonic atoms with Z ≥ 3. In addition, our approaches towards a precise measurement of the Zemach radii in muonic hydrogen (μp) and helium (μ 3He+) are discussed. These resul…
Measurement of the quadrupole moment of Re185 and Re187 from the hyperfine structure of muonic X rays
The hyperfine splitting of the 5g→4f transitions in muonic Re185,187 has been measured using high resolution high purity germanium detectors and compared to state-of-the-art atomic theoretical predictions. The spectroscopic quadrupole moment has been extracted using modern fitting procedures and compared to the values available in literature obtained from muonic x rays of natural rhenium. The extracted values of the nuclear spectroscopic quadrupole moment are 2.07(5) b and 1.94(5) b, respectively for Re185 and Re187.
Preparing single ultra-cold antihydrogen atoms for free-fall in GBAR
We discuss an experimental approach allowing to prepare antihydrogen atoms for the GBAR experiment. We study the feasibility of all necessary experimental steps: The capture of incoming $\bar{\rm H}^{+}$ ions at keV energies in a deep linear RF trap, sympathetic cooling by laser cooled Be+ ions, transfer to a miniaturized trap and Raman sideband cooling of an ion pair to the motional ground state, and further reducing the momentum of the wavepacket by adiabatic opening of the trap. For each step, we point out the experimental challenges and discuss the efficiency and characteristic times, showing that capture and cooling are possible within a few seconds. We discuss an experimental approach…
Determination of the electron’s mass from g -factor experiments on 12 C 5+ and 16 O 7+
Abstract We present a derivation of the electron’s mass from our experiment on the electronic g factor in 12C5+ and 16O7+ together with the most recent quantum electrodynamical predictions. The value obtained from 12C5+ is me=0.0005485799093(3) u, that from oxygen is me=0.0005485799092(5) u. Both values agree with the currently accepted one within 1.5 standard deviations but are four respectively two-and-a-half times more precise. The contributions to the uncertainties of our values and perspectives for the determination of the fine-structure constant α by an experiment on the bound-electron g factor are discussed.