Control system for the ALPHA-g apparatus vacuum heaters

ALPHA collaboration studies the fundamental symmetries between matter and antimatter, or more precisely between hydrogen and its antimatter counterpart antihydrogen. Prior forming antihydrogen atoms and performing experiments on it, ultra-high vacuum system in the trap has to be prepared as any gas particle left in the vacuum can annihilate the antihydrogen’s atom. This report has been prepared on the basis of my work as a summer student in the ALPHA collaboration based at CERN, Switzerland. During my stay, an extension to the ALPHA-2 apparatus, ALPHA-g, was being developed to study the gravitational behavior of antihydrogen atoms in the field of the Earth. The goal of the summer project was to design and assemble the system to control ALPHA-g apparatus heaters for the vacuum system bake out. In other words, to produce the system which allows the cryostat’s heaters to be switched on and off. In addition, the project included morning, afternoon or night shifts operating and maintaining the experimental ALPHA-2 apparatus, as well as daily tasks assembling the newest ALPHA-g apparatus. This report covers a brief introduction and motivation behind the ALPHA-2 and ALPHA-g apparatus, explains the work done to control the ALPHA-g cryostat heaters switch system.