Design and Performance of a Novel Low Energy Multi-Species Beamline for the ALPHA Antihydrogen Experiment

The ALPHA Collaboration, based at the CERN Antiproton Decelerator, has recently implemented a novel beamline for low-energy ($\lesssim$ 100 eV) positron and antiproton transport between cylindrical Penning traps that have strong axial magnetic fields. Here, we describe how a combination of semianalytical and numerical calculations were used to optimise the layout and design of this beamline. Using experimental measurements taken during the initial commissioning of the instrument, we evaluate its performance and validate the models used for its development. By combining data from a range of sources, we show that the beamline has a high transfer efficiency, and estimate that the percentage of particles captured in the experiments from each bunch is (78 $\pm$ 3)% for up to $10^{5}$ antiprotons, and (71 $\pm$ 5)% for bunches of up to $10^{7}$ positrons.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figure

Sympathetic cooling of positrons to cryogenic temperatures for antihydrogen production

The positron, the antiparticle of the electron, predicted by Dirac in 1931 and discovered by Anderson in 1933, plays a key role in many scientific and everyday endeavours. Notably, the positron is a constituent of antihydrogen, the only long-lived neutral antimatter bound state that can currently be synthesized at low energy, presenting a prominent system for testing fundamental symmetries with high precision. Here, we report on the use of laser cooled Be+ ions to sympathetically cool a large and dense plasma of positrons to directly measured temperatures below 7 K in a Penning trap for antihydrogen synthesis. This will likely herald a significant increase in the amount of antihydrogen available for experimentation, thus facilitating further improvements in studies of fundamental symmetries

Acoustic Oddball during NREM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Study

Background: A condition vital for the consolidation and maintenance of sleep is generally reduced responsiveness to external stimuli. Despite this, the sleeper maintains a level of stimulus processing that allows to respond to potentially dangerous environmental signals. The mechanisms that subserve these contradictory functions are only incompletely understood. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using combined EEG/fMRI we investigated the neural substrate of sleep protection by applying an acoustic oddball paradigm during light NREM sleep. Further, we studied the role of evoked K-complexes (KCs), an electroencephalographic hallmark of NREM sleep with a still unknown role for sleep protection. Our main results were: (1) Other than in wakefulness, rare tones did not induce a blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal increase in the auditory pathway but a strong negative BOLD response in motor areas and the amygdala. (2) Stratification of rare tones by the presence of evoked KCs detected activation of the auditory cortex, hippocampus, superior and middle frontal gyri and posterior cingulate only for rare tones followed by a KC. (3) The typical high frontocentral EEG deflections of KCs were not paralleled by a BOLD equivalent. Conclusions/Significance: We observed that rare tones lead to transient disengagement of motor and amygdala responses during light NREM sleep. We interpret this as a sleep protective mechanism to delimit motor responses and to reduce the sensitivity of the amygdala towards further incoming stimuli. Evoked KCs are suggested to originate from a brain state wit

Laser cooling of antihydrogen atoms

The photon—the quantum excitation of the electromagnetic field—is massless but carries momentum. A photon can therefore exert a force on an object upon collision1. Slowing the translational motion of atoms and ions by application of such a force2,3, known as laser cooling, was first demonstrated 40 years ago4,5. It revolutionized atomic physics over the following decades6–8, and it is now a workhorse in many fields, including studies on quantum degenerate gases, quantum information, atomic clocks and tests of fundamental physics. However, this technique has not yet been applied to antimatter. Here we demonstrate laser cooling of antihydrogen9, the antimatter atom consisting of an antiproton and a positron. By exciting the 1S–2P transition in antihydrogen with pulsed, narrow-linewidth, Lyman-α laser radiation10,11, we Doppler-cool a sample of magnetically trapped antihydrogen. Although we apply laser cooling in only one dimension, the trap couples the longitudinal and transverse motions of the anti-atoms, leading to cooling in all three dimensions. We observe a reduction in the median transverse energy by more than an order of magnitude—with a substantial fraction of the anti-atoms attaining submicroelectronvolt transverse kinetic energies. We also report the observation of the laser-driven 1S–2S transition in samples of laser-cooled antihydrogen atoms. The observed spectral line is approximately four times narrower than that obtained without laser cooling. The demonstration of laser cooling and its immediate application has far-reaching implications for antimatter studies. A more localized, denser and colder sample of antihydrogen will drastically improve spectroscopic11–13 and gravitational14 studies of antihydrogen in ongoing experiments. Furthermore, the demonstrated ability to manipulate the motion of antimatter atoms by laser light will potentially provide ground-breaking opportunities for future experiments, such as anti-atomic fountains, anti-atom interferometry and the creation of antimatter molecules

Effect of Sleep Deprivation on NREM Sleep ERPs and Related Activity at Sleep Onset

This research assessed the impact of one night of sleep deprivation on the amplitudes of NREM-sleep event-related potentials (NREM ERPs) and on the frequency of occurrence of related electroencephalogram activity including sleep spindles, arousals, K-complexes, and vertex sharp waves (VSWs). The NREM ERPs identified included P220, N350, P450, N550 and P900. During a pre-deprivation night, ten subjects took two 20-min naps separated by a 20-min break at their normal bedtime. Brief tones were presented at three intensity levels (60, 75 and 90 dB) with a 5s interstimulus interval. Following these naps, subjects were kept awake until their normal bedtime the following day. At that time, they repeated the two-nap procedure. The ERPs obtained for each tone and wake/sleep state for pre-and post-deprivation conditions were analyzed using repeated measures statistical procedures. As anticipated, NREM ERP amplitudes recorded both pre- and post-deprivation increased with tone intensity and with approaching sleep. Also, sleep deprivation was associated with more rapid sleep onset, reduced arousability, and greater spindle production. While sleep deprivation had no effect on the amplitude of P220. Post-deprivation amplitudes of N350, N550 and P900 were greater, especially following the 90-dB tone. There was a corresponding increase in VSWs and K-complexes. These findings are inconsistent with the view that NREM ERPs reflect arousal. The underlying mechanism(s) may facilitate initiation and maintenance of sleep. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Night-Time Sleep and Daytime Sleepiness in Narcolepsy

This report describes night-time sleep and daytime sleepiness in a large (N=530) sample of patients meeting the International Classification of Sleep Disorders criteria for diagnosis of narcolepsy. Sleep data were obtained from polysomnographic recordings on two consecutive nights. Sleepiness was assessed using the Multiple Sleep Latency Test, the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Analysis revealed that sleep was mild to moderately disturbed on both recording nights. A first-night effect was suggested by decreased REM latency and increased percentage REM and slow-wave sleep on the second night. Sleepiness and sleep disturbance varied across patient subgroups created based on patient ethnicity and on the presence/absence of cataplexy, sleep apnoea, and periodic limb movements. Covariation of sleep and sleepiness measures across patients was significant but weak. Strong association was found between subgroup means of sleep and sleep disturbance measures. The findings reported here show that sleepiness and sleep disturbance vary across patient subgroups and that sleep disturbance is related to, although unable to account, for the pathological sleepiness of narcolepsy