Antiproton Studies in Penning Traps
Abstract
Antiprotons are produced in giant accelerators with typical energies measured in GeV. In the unique LEAR facility of CERN, such antiprotons are decelerated to and cooled at an energy of 5 MeV. The experiments described in this proposal made it possible to slow, store and study antiprotons at dramatically lower energies, 10(exp 10) times lower than ever realized before. Antiprotons from LEAR are slowed to several KeV by sending them through a metal degrader window of a precisely chosen thickness. They are then captured in a specially designed Penning trap. Once inside the trap, collisions with extremely cold electrons dramatically lower the energy of the trapped antiprotons to thermal equilibrium at 4.2 K. Antiprotons have now been stored for months in thermal equilibrium at 4.2 K, which requires a vacuum better than 5 x 10(exp - 17) Torr. The first precision measurement at this new, low energy frontier is a comparison of the inertial masses of the antiproton and proton at an accuracy more than 1000 times greater than was achieved in earlier experiments. The accurate mass spectroscopy is greatly facilitated by the invention of self- shielding superconducting solenoid system which has likely applications to MRI imaging.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA274250
Entities
People
- Gerald Gabrielse
Organizations
- Harvard University