Antimatter

Jan Meier
Seminar: Experimental Methods in Atomic Physics
May, 8th 2007
 Overview
• Antimatter and CPT theorie
– what is antimatter?
– what physics does it follow to?
• First observations of antimatter
• Natural sources of antimatter
• Artificial sources of antimatter and experiments with
antihydrogen
– PS210, E862 (first detections of Ħ )
– ATHENA, ATRAP (spatial and velocity distribution and
temperature measurements)
– ALPHA (trapping of Ħ )
– AEGIS (gravity measurement)
Antimatter and CPT theorie
 Prediction of antimatter

1928 - Paul Dirac

(Nobel prize 1933)

Dirac equation of a free electron

⎛ ∂ r r ⎞ r r r
⎜ ih + i h c αˆ ⋅ ∇ − βˆ m e c ⎟ Ψ (r , t ) = 0
2

⎝ ∂t ⎠
solution delivers two energy eigenvalues:
r2
E± = ± c p + me2 c 4
2

Does negative enery eigenvalue have physical meaning?

(P.A.M. Dirac, Proc. R. Soc. A 117 (1928) 610)
 ⎛1 0 0 0⎞
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 1 0 0⎟
β̂ = ⎜
0 0 −1 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 0 0 − 1⎟⎠
⎝

⎛ αˆ x ⎞
r ⎜ ⎟
αˆ = ⎜ αˆ y ⎟
⎜ αˆ ⎟
⎝ z⎠

⎛0 0 0 1⎞ ⎛0 0 0 − i⎞ ⎛0 0 1 0⎞
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
⎜0 0 1 0⎟ ⎜ 0 0 i 0⎟ ⎜ 0 0 0 − 1⎟
αˆ x = ⎜ αˆ y = ⎜ αˆ z = ⎜
0 1 0 0⎟ 0 −i 0 0 ⎟ 1 0 0 0⎟
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
⎜1 0 0 0 ⎟⎠ ⎜i 0 0 0 ⎟ ⎜ 0 −1
⎝ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ 0 0 ⎟⎠
 Dirac interpretation

e-

“Dirac sea“ e-

e+ is a “hole“
1949 Feynman-Stückelberg interpretation
• Positron is a particle (not a “hole“)
• Positron is a (positively charged) electron,
travelling backwards in time

positron some other electron

electron
 CPT-Theory
Transformations C, P and T:

C (charge conjugation) q → −q ; B → − B …
r r
P (parity inversion) x → −x
T (time inversion) t → −t

CPT transformation:
r r
f (q, x , t ) → f (− q,− x ,−t )
 CPT Symmetry
A CPT transformation transforms a particle into
its corresponding anti-particle

e- e+

particle Anti-particle
r CPT r
q, x , t − q,− x ,−t

⇒ Standard Model:
For every particle type there is a corresponding
antiparticle type
(some electrically neutral bosons, like Z0, γ and ηc= cc their own
are
antiparticles)
 CPT invariance
under certain conditions, relativistic quantum field theories say:
Physics (i.g. all physical laws, equations, processes) is invariant
under CPT transformations

+ −

CPT transformation
∂ ∂
Hˆ Ψ = ih Ψ ˆ
CPT(H Ψ ) = CPT(ih Ψ )
∂t
∂t
− e- +
e+

+ −
p 
H Ħ
Prospect of Ħ spectroscopy
 Violation of CPT invariance
Historical: P (theory:Lee,Yang; Exp.:Wu), CP violations (J.H.
Christenson)
(C.S. Wu et al., Phys. Rev. 105 (1957) 1413)
(J.H. Christenson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 13 (1964) 138)

• String theory
• Kostelecky (standard model extension)
• …

(R. Bluhm et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 82 (1999) 2254)

 Matter-antimatter asymmetry

matter ???
energy energy
Big Bang + matter

antimatter

t=0 t now
possible explanations:
• CPT violation, breaking of Baryon number conservation
• CP violation, breaking of Baryon number conservation, out of
equilibrium situation

(H.R. Quinn, SLAC-PUB-8784 (2001))

First observations of antimatter
 First detection of antimatter
1932 - Carl Anderson
(Nobel prize 1936)

secondary cosmic rays cloud chamber

From particle track:

qPositron < +2e
mPositron < 20me

“Positron“ (e+)
(C.D. Anderson, Phys. Rev. 43 (1933) 491)
 Further detections of antiparticles

• 1955 - antiproton at Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory (Chamberlain, Sergé,
Wiegand, Ypsilantis)
• 1956 - antineutron (B. Cork)

(S.L. Chamberlain, Phys. Rev. 100, 947 (1955))

(B. Cork, Phys. Rev. 104, 1193 (1956))

 Natural sources of antimatter
• Beta(plus)-decay 22
11 Na →1022Ne + e + +ν e

• secondary cosmic rays

e , μ ,π
+ +
 Is there antimatter in (primary) cosmic
rays?
1998 - AMS-01 ten day flight on Discovery
“prototype“ m ~ 3 tons

No evidence for primary

antimatter!

2009 – 2012 three years on ISS

AMS-02
m ~ 7 tons
Goal:
detection of He, He
and heavier nuclea
Artificial sources of antimatter and
experiments with Ħ
 antiproton production
principle (since 1954):
traget (e.g. Be, Cu)
proton beam particle-antiparticle
pairs like  ,p
1013
 intensity 107
(J. Eades, Rev. of modern

GeV phys. Vol.71, No.1 (1999))

p p = 26
c
p

p γ


target nucleus
PS210 Experiment (1995 first Ħ detection)

PS (Proton Synchrotron) at CERN

PS210 at LEAR (Low Energy Antiproton Ring) p = 1.94GeV/c

11 Ħ detected!

Xe cluster

e-,e+ pair creation is a rare process

• only if  , Z get close
• two photon collision

Ħ production only if
rel. energy  , e+ < 13.7 eV

probability = 0.000 000 000 000 000 01 %

 E862 at Fermilab (1996)
 beam
p = 3..9 GeV/c
detection of 99 Ħ

Ħ
 e+
H2 beam
e-
γ
p
 AD (Antiproton Decelerator) (since July 2000)
AD

• ATHENA (2002)
deceleration and cooling
p  : 3.5 -> 0.1 GeV/c
(Ħ detection by
detector)
• ATRAP (2002)
(Ħ detection by
reionization)
 The ATHENA experiment

T≈10K


from AD
 positron production

Solid Neon is best known positron moderator

Neon gas
22Na

T=6K “low energy“ positrons

solid Neon layer
 Antiproton capturing
n  ≈ 104
loss rate: 103
E = 5 MeV
tp = 200 ns
n ≈ 107

5kV
 Antiproton positron mixing
“Mixing trap“: nested potential with both positive and negative ions

• production of several million Ħ between 2002

and 2004
 Ħ detection

CsI crystal calorimeter

Si strips to “follow the path“

 ATHENA measurements
Measurement of the spatial
distribution of Ħ
in dependence of e+ plasma
temperature

model:
isotropical
2.5mm e+ plasma and emission of Ħ

32mm

• spatial distribution is independent of e+ plasma temperature

• Ħ is not emitted isotropically
 temperature measurement
Model:
-Recombining  rotate with e+ plasma; isotropically produced Ħ
propagates with momentum of 
-using two temperatures to describe nonequilibrium conditions
-spatial distribution measurement provides temperature ratio

from measurement: Tppara = (10 ± 2)T pperp

surrounding
With Tpperp ≥ 15K temperature

⇒ T ppara ≥ 150K

 and e+ are not in thermal equilibrium i.g. cooling rate is much lower
than recombination rate!
(N. Madsen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94 (2005) 033403)
 Temperature measurement at ATRAP
Measurement of velocity distribution:
• Oscillating field (at radiofrequencies)
• Ionization probability in oscillating field
is higher for slower Ħ
• detection of ionized Ħ (antiprotons)

Best fit for : Ekin = 200meV

corresponds to TH = 2400K

(G. Gabrielse, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 073401)

The ALPHA Project (since 2006, successor to ATHENA)
•Goal: Trapping Ħ for spectroscopy!
•Since Ħ is neutral it can not be trapped in a Penning
trap!
•Other method: using magn. momentum of Ħ
•But: How deep is such a trap? How hot is Ħ allowed
to be?

Summary:
• ATRAP:
– TĦ ≈ 2400 K
• ATHENA:
– TĦ ≥150 K
 Ħ trapping with magn. quadrupole

“high field seekers“

For Br = 1T, Bsol=6T

r
“low field seekers“ Bsol ⇒ ΔB ≈ 0.1T
T = 0 .07 K
r r
E = −μ ⋅ B
ΔE
T∝
kB
K
in Kelvin T = 0.7 ⋅ ΔB
trap depth ΔE = μ ⋅ ΔB T
 r
Br r
Bsol
B = Bsol
2
+ Br2
⇒ ΔB = Bsol
2
+ Br2 − Bsol
 Helmholz configuration for axial trappig

Anti-Helmholz configuration for radial trapping

 AEGIS project (planned to be in AD)
Goal: direct measurement of g for Ħ

Rydberg
positronium e+e-
Beam (laser
exited)
Stark accelerator

Cooled in Penning trap
Ħ *
T≈100mK v∼100m/s

In AEGIS: With two gratings and position dependent detector

Precision: ∼1%
 conclusion
• Low temperatures needed for trapping Ħ and to
– do spectroscopy experiments (CPT test; precision
1013!!!)
– test gravity for antimatter
• Temperatures still to high for trapping!
• Challange: Cooling of negative ions ( ) to build Ħ at
very low temperatures (∼mK)
• Futher cooling of Ħ with lasercooling (if convenient
lasersystems are developed)
Thank You for Your attention!