BASE-STEP: A transportable antiproton reservoir for fundamental interaction studies

Currently, the only worldwide source of low-energy antiprotons is the AD/ELENA facility located at CERN. To date, all precision measurements on single antiprotons have been conducted at this facility and provide stringent tests of the fundamental interactions and their symmetries. However, the magnetic field fluctuations from the facility operation limit the precision of upcoming measurements. To overcome this limitation, we have designed the transportable antiproton trap system BASE-STEP to relocate antiprotons to laboratories with a calm magnetic environment. We anticipate that the transportable antiproton trap will facilitate enhanced tests of CPT invariance with antiprotons, and provide new experimental possibilities of using transported antiprotons and other accelerator-produced exotic ions. We present here the technical design of the transportable trap system. This includes the transportable superconducting magnet, the cryogenic inlay consisting of the trap stack and the detection systems, and the differential pumping section to suppress the residual gas flow into the cryogenic trap chamber.Comment: To be submitted to Rev. Sci. Instrument