339 research outputs found
Evidence For The Production Of Slow Antiprotonic Hydrogen In Vacuum
We present evidence showing how antiprotonic hydrogen, the quasistable
antiproton-proton (pbar-p) bound system, has been synthesized following the
interaction of antiprotons with the hydrogen molecular ion (H2+) in a nested
Penning trap environment. From a careful analysis of the spatial distributions
of antiproton annihilation events, evidence is presented for antiprotonic
hydrogen production with sub-eV kinetic energies in states around n=70, and
with low angular momenta. The slow antiprotonic hydrogen may be studied using
laser spectroscopic techniques.Comment: 5 pages with 4 figures. Published as Phys. Rev. Letters 97, 153401
(2006), in slightly different for
Detection of antihydrogen annihilations with a Si-micro-strip and pure CsI detector
In 2002, the ATHENA collaboration reported the creation and detection of cold
(~15 K) antihydrogen atoms [1]. The observation was based on the complete
reconstruction of antihydrogen annihilations, simultaneous and spatially
correlated annihilations of an antiproton and a positron. Annihilation
byproducts are measured with a cylindrically symmetric detector system
consisting of two layers of double sided Si-micro-strip modules that are
surrounded by 16 rows of 12 pure CsI crystals (13 x 17.5 x 17 mm^3). This paper
gives a brief overview of the experiment, the detector system, and event
reconstruction.
Reference 1. M. Amoretti et al., Nature 419, 456 (2002).Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures; Proceedings for the 8th ICATPP Conference on
Astroparticle, Particle, Space Physics, Detectors and Medical Physics
Applications (Como, Italy October 2003) to be published by World Scientific
(style file included
Search for electron antineutrino interactions with the Borexino Counting Test Facility at Gran Sasso
Electron antineutrino interactions above the inverse beta decay energy of
protons (E_\bar{\nu}_e>1.8) where looked for with the Borexino Counting Test
Facility (CTF). One candidate event survived after rejection of background,
which included muon-induced neutrons and random coincidences. An upper limit on
the solar flux, assumed having the B solar neutrino energy
spectrum, of 1.1 cm~s (90% C.L.) was set with a 7.8
ton year exposure. This upper limit corresponds to a solar neutrino
transition probability, , of 0.02 (90% C.L.).
Predictions for antineutrino detection with Borexino, including geoneutrinos,
are discussed on the basis of background measurements performed with the CTF.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 5 table
Positron plasma diagnostics and temperature control for antihydrogen production
Production of antihydrogen atoms by mixing antiprotons with a cold, confined,
positron plasma depends critically on parameters such as the plasma density and
temperature. We discuss non-destructive measurements, based on a novel,
real-time analysis of excited, low-order plasma modes, that provide
comprehensive characterization of the positron plasma in the ATHENA
antihydrogen apparatus. The plasma length, radius, density, and total particle
number are obtained. Measurement and control of plasma temperature variations,
and the application to antihydrogen production experiments are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Cold-Antimatter Physics
The CPT theorem and the Weak Equivalence Principle are foundational
principles on which the standard description of the fundamental interactions is
based. The validity of such basic principles should be tested using the largest
possible sample of physical systems. Cold neutral antimatter (low-energy
antihydrogen atoms) could be a tool for testing the CPT symmetry with high
precision and for a direct measurement of the gravitational acceleration of
antimatter. After several years of experimental efforts, the production of
low-energy antihydrogen through the recombination of antiprotons and positrons
is a well-established experimental reality. An overview of the ATHENA
experiment at CERN will be given and the main experimental results on
antihydrogen formation will be reviewed.Comment: Proceedings of the XLIII International Meeting on Nuclear Physics,
Bormio (Italy), March 13-20 (2005). 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
ATHENA -- First Production of Cold Antihydrogen and Beyond
Atomic systems of antiparticles are the laboratories of choice for tests of
CPT symmetry with antimatter. The ATHENA experiment was the first to report the
production of copious amounts of cold antihydrogen in 2002. This article
reviews some of the insights that have since been gained concerning the
antihydrogen production process as well as the external and internal properties
of the produced anti-atoms. Furthermore, the implications of those results on
future prospects of symmetry tests with antimatter are discussed.Comment: Proc. of the Third Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, Bloomington
(Indiana), USA, August 2004, edited by V. A. Kostelecky (World Scientific,
Singapore). 10 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Author affiliations cor
Pulse-Shape discrimination with the Counting Test Facility
Pulse shape discrimination (PSD) is one of the most distinctive features of
liquid scintillators. Since the introduction of the scintillation techniques in
the field of particle detection, many studies have been carried out to
characterize intrinsic properties of the most common liquid scintillator
mixtures in this respect. Several application methods and algorithms able to
achieve optimum discrimination performances have been developed. However, the
vast majority of these studies have been performed on samples of small
dimensions. The Counting Test Facility, prototype of the solar neutrino
experiment Borexino, as a 4 ton spherical scintillation detector immersed in
1000 tons of shielding water, represents a unique opportunity to extend the
small-sample PSD studies to a large-volume setup. Specifically, in this work we
consider two different liquid scintillation mixtures employed in CTF,
illustrating for both the PSD characterization results obtained either with the
processing of the scintillation waveform through the optimum Gatti's method, or
via a more conventional approach based on the charge content of the
scintillation tail. The outcomes of this study, while interesting per se, are
also of paramount importance in view of the expected Borexino detector
performances, where PSD will be an essential tool in the framework of the
background rejection strategy needed to achieve the required sensitivity to the
solar neutrino signals.Comment: 39 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. Meth.
New limits on nucleon decays into invisible channels with the BOREXINO Counting Test Facility
The results of background measurements with the second version of the
BOREXINO Counting Test Facility (CTF-II), installed in the Gran Sasso
Underground Laboratory, were used to obtain limits on the instability of
nucleons, bounded in nuclei, for decays into invisible channels ():
disappearance, decays to neutrinos, etc. The approach consisted of a search for
decays of unstable nuclides resulting from and decays of parents
C, C and O nuclei in the liquid scintillator and the water
shield of the CTF. Due to the extremely low background and the large mass (4.2
ton) of the CTF detector, the most stringent (or competitive) up-to-date
experimental bounds have been established: y, y, y and y, all at 90% C.L.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures,submitted to Phys.Lett.
Recent Borexino results and prospects for the near future
The Borexino experiment, located in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, is an
organic liquid scintillator detector conceived for the real time spectroscopy
of low energy solar neutrinos. The data taking campaign phase I (2007 - 2010)
has allowed the first independent measurements of 7Be, 8B and pep fluxes as
well as the first measurement of anti-neutrinos from the earth. After a
purification of the scintillator, Borexino is now in phase II since 2011. We
review here the recent results achieved during 2013, concerning the seasonal
modulation in the 7Be signal, the study of cosmogenic backgrounds and the
updated measurement of geo-neutrinos. We also review the upcoming measurements
from phase II data (pp, pep, CNO) and the project SOX devoted to the study of
sterile neutrinos via the use of a 51Cr neutrino source and a 144Ce-144Pr
antineutrino source placed in close proximity of the active material.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures. To be published as proceedings of Rencontres de
Moriond EW 201
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