112 research outputs found
Low-energy Antiproton Interaction with Helium
An ab initio potential for the interaction of the neutral helium atom with
antiprotons and protons is calculated using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation.
Using this potential, the annihilation cross section for antiprotons in the
energy range 0.01 microvolt to 1 eV is calculated.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, LaTe
Dense Antihydrogen: Its Production and Storage to Envision Antimatter Propulsion
We discuss the possibility that dense antihydrogen could provide a path
towards a mechanism for a deep space propulsion system. We concentrate at
first, as an example, on Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) antihydrogen. In a
Bose-Einstein Condensate, matter (or antimatter) is in a coherent state
analogous to photons in a laser beam, and individual atoms lose their
independent identity. This allows many atoms to be stored in a small volume. In
the context of recent advances in producing and controlling BECs, as well as in
making antihydrogen, this could potentially provide a revolutionary path
towards the efficient storage of large quantities of antimatter, perhaps
eventually as a cluster or solid.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
A Catching Trap for All Antiproton Seasons
We describe the origin, development, and status of the Los Alamos antiproton
catching trap. Originally designed for the antiproton gravity experiment, it
now is clear that this device can be a source of low-energy antiprotons for a
wide range of physics, both on site, at CERN, and also off site.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, 6 figures available upon request, In honor of
Herbert Walthe
Radiative recombination of bare Bi83+: Experiment versus theory
Electron-ion recombination of completely stripped Bi83+ was investigated at
the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) of the GSI in Darmstadt. It was the first
experiment of this kind with a bare ion heavier than argon. Absolute
recombination rate coefficients have been measured for relative energies
between ions and electrons from 0 up to about 125 eV. In the energy range from
15 meV to 125 eV a very good agreement is found between the experimental result
and theory for radiative recombination (RR). However, below 15 meV the
experimental rate increasingly exceeds the RR calculation and at Erel = 0 eV it
is a factor of 5.2 above the expected value. For further investigation of this
enhancement phenomenon the electron density in the interaction region was set
to 1.6E6/cm3, 3.2E6/cm3 and 4.7E6/cm3. This variation had no significant
influence on the recombination rate. An additional variation of the magnetic
guiding field of the electrons from 70 mT to 150 mT in steps of 1 mT resulted
in periodic oscillations of the rate which are accompanied by considerable
changes of the transverse electron temperature.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. A, see also
http://www.gsi.de/ap/ and http://www.strz.uni-giessen.de/~k
Antihydrogen formation dynamics in a multipolar neutral anti-atom trap
Antihydrogen production in a neutral atom trap formed by an octupole-based
magnetic field minimum is demonstrated using field-ionization of weakly bound
anti-atoms. Using our unique annihilation imaging detector, we correlate
antihydrogen detection by imaging and by field-ionization for the first time.
We further establish how field-ionization causes radial redistribution of the
antiprotons during antihydrogen formation and use this effect for the first
simultaneous measurements of strongly and weakly bound antihydrogen atoms.
Distinguishing between these provides critical information needed in the
process of optimizing for trappable antihydrogen. These observations are of
crucial importance to the ultimate goal of performing CPT tests involving
antihydrogen, which likely depends upon trapping the anti-atom
Search for Global Dipole Enhancements in the HiRes-I Monocular Data above 10^{18.5} eV
Several proposed source models for Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs)
consist of dipole distributions oriented towards major astrophysical landmarks
such as the galactic center, M87, or Centaurus A. We use a comparison between
real data and simulated data to show that the HiRes-I monocular data for
energies above 10^{18.5} eV is, in fact, consistent with an isotropic source
model. We then explore methods to quantify our sensitivity to dipole source
models oriented towards the Galactic Center, M87, and Centaurus A.Comment: 17 pages, 31 figure
CPT and Lorentz Tests in Hydrogen and Antihydrogen
Signals for CPT and Lorentz violation at the Planck scale may arise in
hydrogen and antihydrogen spectroscopy. We show that certain 1S-2S and
hyperfine transitions can exhibit theoretically detectable effects unsuppressed
by any power of the fine-structure constant.Comment: 4 pages REVTeX, submitted for publicatio
Dynamical Stability and Quantum Chaos of Ions in a Linear Trap
The realization of a paradigm chaotic system, namely the harmonically driven
oscillator, in the quantum domain using cold trapped ions driven by lasers is
theoretically investigated. The simplest characteristics of regular and chaotic
dynamics are calculated. The possibilities of experimental realization are
discussed.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev
An upper limit on the electron-neutrino flux from the HiRes detector
Air-fluorescence detectors such as the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes)
detector are very sensitive to upward-going, Earth-skimming ultrahigh energy
electron-neutrino-induced showers. This is due to the relatively large
interaction cross sections of these high-energy neutrinos and to the
Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect. The LPM effect causes a significant
decrease in the cross sections for bremsstrahlung and pair production, allowing
charged-current electron-neutrino-induced showers occurring deep in the Earth's
crust to be detectable as they exit the Earth into the atmosphere. A search for
upward-going neutrino-induced showers in the HiRes-II monocular dataset has
yielded a null result. From an LPM calculation of the energy spectrum of
charged particles as a function of primary energy and depth for
electron-induced showers in rock, we calculate the shape of the resulting
profile of these showers in air. We describe a full detector Monte Carlo
simulation to determine the detector response to upward-going
electron-neutrino-induced cascades and present an upper limit on the flux of
electron-neutrinos.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. submitted to Astrophysical Journa
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