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A measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-proton

A fundamental experiment in gravity proposed by us, is the measurement of the gravitational force on antimatter. This measurement would constitute the first direct test of the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) for antimatter. The availability of low-energy antiprotons at CERN has made such an experim...

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Autor principal: Holzscheiter, M H
Lenguaje:eng
Publicado: 1990
Materias:
Acceso en línea:http://cds.cern.ch/record/2625087
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author Holzscheiter, M H
author_facet Holzscheiter, M H
author_sort Holzscheiter, M H
collection CERN
description A fundamental experiment in gravity proposed by us, is the measurement of the gravitational force on antimatter. This measurement would constitute the first direct test of the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) for antimatter. The availability of low-energy antiprotons at CERN has made such an experiment feasible, and a proposal to carry out such a measurement has been accepted by the CERN Program Committee. We plan to use a time-of-flight technique similar to that pioneered by Fairbank and Witteborn in their measurement of the gravitational force on an electron. Very slow particles are launched into a vertical drift tube and the time-of-flight spectrum of these particles is recorded. This spectrum will exhibit a cut-off point directly related to the gravitational acceleration of the particles. Obtaining very slow antiprotons involves several stages of deceleration. Antiprotons from LEAR will be initially decelerated from 2 MeY to tens of kilovolts by passing them through a thin foil. After capture and cooling in a series of ion traps, the antiprotons will be in a thermal distribution with a temperature of a few degrees Kelvin. These ultra-cold antiprotons will then be released a few at a time into the drift tube. A detector will measure the arrival time of the particles at the exit of the drift tube. H- -ion, which have almost identical electromagnetic properties to the antiprotons, will be used for comparison and as a calibration standard.
id oai-inspirehep.net-309744
institution Organización Europea para la Investigación Nuclear
language eng
publishDate 1990
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spelling oai-inspirehep.net-3097442019-09-30T06:29:59Zhttp://cds.cern.ch/record/2625087engHolzscheiter, M HA measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-protonParticle Physics - ExperimentA fundamental experiment in gravity proposed by us, is the measurement of the gravitational force on antimatter. This measurement would constitute the first direct test of the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) for antimatter. The availability of low-energy antiprotons at CERN has made such an experiment feasible, and a proposal to carry out such a measurement has been accepted by the CERN Program Committee. We plan to use a time-of-flight technique similar to that pioneered by Fairbank and Witteborn in their measurement of the gravitational force on an electron. Very slow particles are launched into a vertical drift tube and the time-of-flight spectrum of these particles is recorded. This spectrum will exhibit a cut-off point directly related to the gravitational acceleration of the particles. Obtaining very slow antiprotons involves several stages of deceleration. Antiprotons from LEAR will be initially decelerated from 2 MeY to tens of kilovolts by passing them through a thin foil. After capture and cooling in a series of ion traps, the antiprotons will be in a thermal distribution with a temperature of a few degrees Kelvin. These ultra-cold antiprotons will then be released a few at a time into the drift tube. A detector will measure the arrival time of the particles at the exit of the drift tube. H- -ion, which have almost identical electromagnetic properties to the antiprotons, will be used for comparison and as a calibration standard.oai:inspirehep.net:3097441990
spellingShingle Particle Physics - Experiment
Holzscheiter, M H
A measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-proton
title A measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-proton
title_full A measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-proton
title_fullStr A measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-proton
title_full_unstemmed A measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-proton
title_short A measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-proton
title_sort measurement of the gravitational acceleration of the anti-proton
topic Particle Physics - Experiment
url http://cds.cern.ch/record/2625087
work_keys_str_mv AT holzscheitermh ameasurementofthegravitationalaccelerationoftheantiproton
AT holzscheitermh measurementofthegravitationalaccelerationoftheantiproton