Spectroscopy of excited state positronium

Abstract. The field of experimental positronium physics has advanced significantly in the last few decades, with new areas of research driven by the development of techniques for trapping and manipulating positrons using Surko-type buffer gas traps. Large numbers of positrons (typically ≥10 6 ) accumulated in such a device may be ejected all at once, so as to generate an intense pulse. Standard bunching techniques can produce pulses with ns (mm) temporal (spatial) beam profiles. These pulses can be converted into a dilute Ps gas in vacuum with densities on the order of 10 7 cm −3 which can be probed by standard ns pulsed laser systems. This allows for the efficient production of excited Ps states, including long-lived Rydberg states, which in turn facilitates numerous experimental programs, such as precision optical and microwave spectroscopy of Ps, the application of Stark deceleration methods to guide, decelerate and focus Rydberg Ps beams, and studies of the interactions of such beams with other atomic and molecular species. These methods are also applicable to antihydrogen production and spectroscopic studies of energy levels and resonances in positronium ions and molecules. A summary of recent progress in this area will be given, with the objective of providing an overview of the field as it currently exists, and a brief discussion of some future directions.

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“…The lowest order corrections were first calculated by Pirenne [12]; the shifts to the ground state Bohr [172]. From reference [130].…”

Section: The Atomic Structure Of Psmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This table includes microwave and (one) precision optical measurement [107]. In general one can expect optical measurements to be considerably more precise than those obtained from microwave spectroscopy, but it is nevertheless instructive to consider how well the energy levels of Ps are known experimentally (see also [172]). …”

Section: Precision Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental progress in positronium laser physics

2018

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“…The line width of the 2 3 S 1 state is of 1 MHz and that of all 2P states is of 50 MHz and thus it cannot be seen in the scale of the top picture, while the width of parapositronium singlet (2 1 S 0 ) being of 1.3 GHz is clearly recognized. The references to the measurements are: a - [195], b - [196], c - [197], d - [198] and e - [199].…”

Section: Spectrum and Annihilation Of Positronium And Recoil Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precision physics of simple atoms: QED tests, nuclear structure and fundamental constants

2005

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Quantum electrodynamics is the first successful and still the most successful quantum field theory. Simple atoms, being essentially QED systems, allow highly accurate theoretical predictions. Because of their simple spectra, such atoms have been also efficiently studied experimentally frequently offering the most precisely measured quantities. Our review is devoted to comparison of theory and experiment in the field of precision physics of light simple atoms. In particular, we consider the Lamb shift in the hydrogen atom, the hyperfine structure in hydrogen, deuterium, helium-3 ion, muonium and positronium, as well as a number of other transitions in positronium. Additionally to a spectrum of unperturbed atoms, we consider annihilation decay of positronium and the g factor of bound particles in various two-body atoms. Special attention is paid to the uncertainty of the QED calculations due to the uncalculated higher-order corrections and effects of the nuclear structure. We also discuss applications of simple atoms to determination of several fundamental constants.

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“…Measurements of the fine structure transitions at n = 2. Experiments were performed at Brandeis University (a - [27]), University of Michigan (b - [28] and d - [30]) and Mainz University (c - [29] and e - [31]). …”

Section: Positronium Spectrummentioning

confidence: 99%

Precision Study of Positronium: Testing Bound State Qed Theory

Karshenboim

2004

Int. J. Mod. Phys. A

119

109

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As an unstable light pure leptonic system, positronium is a very specific probe atom to test bound state QED. In contrast to ordinary QED for free leptons, the bound state QED theory is not so well understood and bound state approaches deserve highly accurate tests. We present a brief overview of precision studies of positronium paying special attention to uncertainties of theory as well as comparison of theory and experiment. We also consider in detail advantages and disadvantages of positronium tests compared to other QED experiments.

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Spectroscopy of excited state positronium

Cited by 24 publications

References 26 publications

Experimental progress in positronium laser physics

Experimental progress in positronium laser physics

Precision physics of simple atoms: QED tests, nuclear structure and fundamental constants

Precision Study of Positronium: Testing Bound State Qed Theory

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