Matrix isolation sublimation: An apparatus for producing cryogenic beams of atoms and molecules

Sacramento, R. L.; Oliveira, A. N.; Alves, B. X. R.; Silva, B. A.; Li, M. S.; Wolff, W.; Cesar, C. L.

doi:10.1063/1.4926774

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…In our group in Brazil we have developed another technique to generate a cryogenic beam suitable to load a magnetic trap of hydrogen and other species, which we call matrix isolation sublimation (MISu) [24][25][26][27][28][29]. It involves three steps: (i) a solid film of inert gas, such as Ne or H 2 , is grown onto a cold sapphire substrate at ∼4K; (ii) atoms are implanted, typically via laser ablation of some suitable solid precursor, such as LiH for the case of interest in Li and H, thus forming the matrix isolation; and (iii) the matrix is sublimated at cryogenic temperatures with a heat pulse to the sapphire substrate.…”

Section: Atoms and Moleculesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sensitive detection method for high resolution spectroscopy of trapped antihydrogen, hydrogen and other trapped species

Cesar

2016

J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys.

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A method for detection of the weak 1s-2s laser excitation of a few trapped antihydrogen atoms is described. It involves the typical antihydrogen trapping environment that combines a magnetic trap for the atoms as well as a Penning trap for its constituent particles. By photoionization of the excited state the photoion can be kept in a weak Penning trap and at a suitable time be ejected towards a charged particle detector such as a microchannel plate or a channel electron multiplier. Since it does not rely on annihilation, the method is also suitable for trapped hydrogen and may find application with other species when a weak transition to a metastable state is intended and only a few trapped atoms or molecules are available.

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Section: Atoms and Moleculesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sensitive detection method for high resolution spectroscopy of trapped antihydrogen, hydrogen and other trapped species

Cesar

2016

J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys.

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“…Therefore, it is expected that monatomic hydrogen would not survive within the Catching Trap vacuum, as it is a cryogenic trap. Alternative methods for producing hydrogen atom sources include matrix isolation sublimation [73] and photo-detachment of heavy molecular ions [74,75,76]. Both of these methods have been suggested as potential candidates within the ALPHA apparatus.…”

Section: Basic Processes and Raw Materials Of Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

A proton source in the ALPHA apparatus for precision measurements of antihydrogen and hydrogen

Mullan¹

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The apparent lack of antimatter within our local solar system, the Milky Way, and at Galactic boundaries is inconsistent with the Big Bang hypothesis. This disagreement has motivated many experiments to compare the properties and behaviour of antimatter and matter. The ALPHA (Antihydrogen Laser PHysics Apparatus) experiment produce, trap and study antihydrogen. This synthesis involves antiprotons sourced from the limited schedule of the Antiproton Decelerator facility. The restricted availability hinders the number of novel antiproton experiments, which could potentially increase the number of trapped antihydrogen atoms per Antiproton Decelerator cycle. Some of these studies can be performed using a substitute for antiprotons, such as protons, allowing the limited antiprotons to be used during the implementation of their results. This research demonstrates a method that adapts an existing Penning trap to produce protons on demand within reasonable operating time scales of minutes. The availability of protons enables the consideration of new physics studies within ALPHA, including hydrogen formation, trapping, and possibly in situ hydrogenantihydrogen comparisons. The study produced protons from radiofrequency-driven electrons through electron impact ionisation of the cryogenic Penning trap residual gas. The resulting positive ions were sympathetically cooled and compressed by positrons. All positive ions, except protons, were ejected from the trapping potentials using the autoresonance method. The remaining trapped population is approximately (0.9 − 1.2) × 10 6 protons. This research proves the feasibility of generating protons within the ALPHA apparatus, paving the way for future prospects of hydrogen generation.

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Adaptable platform for trapped cold electrons, hydrogen and lithium anions and cations

et al. 2023

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Cold cations, electrons and anions are ubiquitous in space, participate in star formation chemistry and are relevant to studies on the origin of molecular biology homochirality. We report on a system to generate and trap these species in the laboratory. Laser ablation of a solid target (LiH) facing a sublimating Ne matrix generates cold electrons, anions, and cations. Axial energy distributions (of $${{{{{{\rm{e}}}}}}}^{-}$$ e − , $${{{{{{\rm{H}}}}}}}^{\pm }$$ H ± and $${{{{{{\rm{Li}}}}}}}^{\pm }$$ Li ± ) peaked at 0–25 meV are obtained in a Penning trap at 90 mT and 0.5 eV barrier. Anions can be guided and neutralized with low recoil energy by near–threshold photodetachment. An immediate prospect for this $${{{{{{\rm{H}}}}}}}^{-}$$ H − source is to load hydrogen atoms into the ALPHA antihydrogen trap at CERN toward direct spectroscopic comparison of both conjugated species beyond 13 significant figures. The production is potentially scalable and adaptable to different species including deuterium and tritium, relevant for neutrino mass and fusion research.

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Matrix isolation sublimation: An apparatus for producing cryogenic beams of atoms and molecules

Cited by 7 publications

References 36 publications

A sensitive detection method for high resolution spectroscopy of trapped antihydrogen, hydrogen and other trapped species

A sensitive detection method for high resolution spectroscopy of trapped antihydrogen, hydrogen and other trapped species

A proton source in the ALPHA apparatus for precision measurements of antihydrogen and hydrogen

Adaptable platform for trapped cold electrons, hydrogen and lithium anions and cations

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