CONSOLATI G.

In this work we present a hybrid detection method providing simultaneous imaging and timing information suitable for fully monitoring positronium (Ps) formation, its laser excitation, and its spatial propagation for the first trials of pulsed antihydrogen (H) production through a charge-exchange reaction with trapped antiprotons (p). This...

We characterized the pulsed Rydberg-positronium production inside the Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEg¯IS) apparatus in view of antihydrogen formation by means of a charge exchange reaction between cold antiprotons and slow Rydberg-positronium atoms. Velocity measurements on the positronium along two axes in a...

In this contribution, the system of the external plastic scintillator slabs of the AEgIS experiment is presented. These slabs, surrounding the superconducting magnet and operating at room temperature, are read out by photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) that are calibrated and equalised to be exploited as a whole detector with useful segmentation and...

The foreseen production of cold antihydrogen atoms at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator (AD) opened up the possibility to perform direct measurements of Earth's gravitational acceleration on antimatter bodies. This is one of the goals of the AEgIS collaboration: measure the value of g using a pulsed source of cold antihydrogen and a moiré...

We investigate experimentally the possibility of enhancing the production of 2S3 positronium atoms by driving the 1S3-3P3 and 3P3-2S3 transitions, overcoming the natural branching ratio limitation of spontaneous decay from 3P3 to 2S3. The decay of 3P3 positronium atoms toward the 2S3 level has been efficiently stimulated by a 1312.2 nm...

In this work we describe a high-resolution position-sensitive detector for positronium. The detection scheme is based on the photoionization of positronium in a magnetic field and the imaging of the freed positrons with a Microchannel Plate assembly. A spatial resolution of (88±5) μm on the position of the ionized positronium –in the plane...

Positronium in the 2S3 metastable state exhibits a low electrical polarizability and a long lifetime (1140 ns), making it a promising candidate for interferometry experiments with a neutral matter-antimatter system. In the present work, 2S3 positronium is produced, in the absence of an electric field, via spontaneous radiative decay from the...

Antihydrogen atoms with K or sub-K temperature are a powerful tool to precisely probe the validity of fundamental physics laws and the design of highly sensitive experiments needs antihydrogen with controllable and well defined conditions. We present here experimental results on the production of antihydrogen in a pulsed mode in which the time...

The AE¯ gIS collaboration's main goal is to measure the acceleration of antihydrogen (H¯ ) due to gravity. The experimental scheme is to form a pulsed beam whose vertical deflection is then measured by means of a moiré deflectometer [1]. Creating pulsed H¯ is crucial since it allows a velocity measurement of the antiatoms via time of flight...

A main scientific goal of the AEgIS ¯ experiment is the direct measurement of the Earth's local gravitational acceleration g on antihydrogen. The Weak Equivalence Principle is a foundation of General Relativity. It has been extensively tested with ordinary matter but very little is known about the gravitational interaction between matter and...

Cold antihydrogen atoms are a powerful tool to probe the validity of fundamental physics laws, and it's clear that colder atoms, generally speaking, allow an increased level of precision. After the first production of cold antihydrogen (H in 2002 [1], experimental efforts have progressed continuously (trapping [2], beam formation [3],...

The 33P state of positronium is an intermediate level suitable for producing long-lived positronium states. On one hand, it can be used in a two-step laser excitation scheme from the ground state to Rydberg levels. On the other hand, excitation of positronium to 33P level is a simple pathway for producing metastable 23S positronium atoms by...

The efficient production of cold antihydrogen atoms in particle traps at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator has opened up the possibility of performing direct measurements of the Earth's gravitational acceleration on purely antimatter bodies. The goal of the AEgIS collaboration is to measure the value of g for antimatter using a pulsed source of...

Positronium (Ps), the unstable bound state of electron and positron, is a valuable system for neutral antimatter spectroscopic studies and for antihydrogen production. Forming a pulsed beam cold antihydrogen using charge-exchange with the Rydberg Ps is the goal of the AEgIS Collaboration, which aims to measure gravity on neutral antimatter....

The validity of the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) as predicted by General Relativity has been tested up to astounding precision using ordinary matter. The lack hitherto of a stable source of a probe being at the same time electrically neutral, cold and stable enough to be measured has prevented high-accuracy testing of the WEP on...

We present the commissioning of the Fast Annihilation Cryogenic Tracker detector (FACT), installed around the antihydrogen production trap inside the 1T superconducting magnet of the AEgIS experiment. FACT is designed to detect pions originating from the annihilation of antiprotons. Its 794 scintillating fibers operate at 4K and are read out by...

The AEgIS experiment at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator (AD) aims at performing a direct measurement of the gravitational force on antimatter to probe the Weak Equivalence Principle of General Relativity with antimatter. The idea is to measure the vertical displacement of a cold antihydrogen beam, due to the gravitational force, by using a moiré...

The AEGIS experiment1 (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy) is planned to perform the first measurement of the gravitational acceleration on antimatter by observing the free fall of antihydrogen atoms. By combining techniques based on recent developments in the production of positronium and its laser excitation to...

Studies of antimatter are important for understanding our universe at a fundamental level. There are still unsolved problems, such as the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. The AEgIS experiment at CERN aims at measuring the gravitational fall of antihydrogen in order to determine the gravitational force on antimatter. The proposed...