arXiv subjects

L. Kurchaninov

Publications and source records attributed to L. Kurchaninov.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

In situ electromagnetic field diagnostics with an electron plasma in a Penning-Malmberg trap

We demonstrate a novel detection method for the cyclotron resonance frequency of an electron plasma in a Penning-Malmberg trap. With this technique, the electron plasma is used as an in situ diagnostic tool for measurement of the static magnetic field and the microwave electric field in the trap. The cyclotron motion of the electron plasma is excited by microwave radiation and the temperature change of the plasma is measured non-destructively by monitoring the plasma's quadrupole mode frequency. The spatially-resolved microwave electric field strength can be inferred from the plasma temperature change and the magnetic field is found through the cyclotron resonance frequency. These measurements were used extensively in the recently reported demonstration of resonant quantum interactions with antihydrogen.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2013

Detection of $D^{\pm}$ mesons production in pA-interactions at 70 GeV

The results of analysis SERP-E-184 experiment data, obtained with 70 GeV proton beam irradiation of active target with carbon, silicon and lead plates are presented. For 3-prongs charged charmed mesons decays, event selection criteria were developed and detection efficiency was calculated with detailed simulation using FRITIOF7.02 and GEANT3.21 programs. Signals of decays were found and charm production inclusive cross sections estimated at near threshold energy. The lifetimes and A-dependence of cross section were measured. Yields of D mesons and their ratios in comparison with data of other experiments and theoretical predictions are presented.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2012

Antihydrogen and mirror-trapped antiproton discrimination: Discriminating between antihydrogen and mirror-trapped antiprotons in a minimum-B trap

Recently, antihydrogen atoms were trapped at CERN in a magnetic minimum (minimum-B) trap formed by superconducting octupole and mirror magnet coils. The trapped antiatoms were detected by rapidly turning off these magnets, thereby eliminating the magnetic minimum and releasing any antiatoms contained in the trap. Once released, these antiatoms quickly hit the trap wall, whereupon the positrons and antiprotons in the antiatoms annihilated. The antiproton annihilations produce easily detected signals; we used these signals to prove that we trapped antihydrogen. However, our technique could be confounded by mirror-trapped antiprotons, which would produce seemingly-identical annihilation signals upon hitting the trap wall. In this paper, we discuss possible sources of mirror-trapped antiprotons and show that antihydrogen and antiprotons can be readily distinguished, often with the aid of applied electric fields, by analyzing the annihilation locations and times. We further discuss the general properties of antiproton and antihydrogen trajectories in this magnetic geometry, and reconstruct the antihydrogen energy distribution from the measured annihilation time history.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2011

Simulations of a micro-PET System based on Liquid Xenon

The imaging performance of a high-resolution preclinical microPET system employing liquid xenon as the gamma ray detection medium was simulated. The arrangement comprises a ring of detectors consisting of trapezoidal LXe time projection ionization chambers and two arrays of large area avalanche photodiodes for the measurement of ionization charge and scintillation light. A key feature of the LXePET system is the ability to identify individual photon interactions with high energy resolution and high spatial resolution in 3 dimensions and determine the correct interaction sequence using Compton reconstruction algorithms. The simulated LXePET imaging performance was evaluated by computing the noise equivalent count rate, the sensitivity and point spread function for a point source, and by examining the image quality using a micro-Derenzo phantom according to the NEMA-NU4 standard. Results of these simulation studies included NECR peaking at 1326 kcps at 188 MBq (705 kcps at 184 MBq) for an energy window of 450 - 600 keV and a coincidence window of 1 ns for mouse (rat) phantoms. The absolute sensitivity at the center of the field of view was 12.6%. Radial, tangential, and axial resolutions of 22Na point sources reconstructed with a list-mode maximum likelihood expectation maximization algorithm were <= 0.8 mm (FWHM) throughout the field of view. Hot-rod inserts of < 0.8 mm diameter were resolvable in the transaxial image of a micro-Derenzo phantom. The simulations show that a liquid xenon system would provide new capabilities for significantly enhancing PET images.

physics.med-ph↗

arXiv2011

Search for Massive Neutrinos in the Decay pi --> e nu

Evidence of massive neutrinos in the pi --> e nu decay spectrum was sought with the background pi --> mu --> e decay chain highly suppressed. Upper limits (90% C.L.) on the neutrino mixing matrix element |U_ei|^2 in the neutrino mass region 60--129 MeV/c^2 were set at the level of 10^-8.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2011

Confinement of antihydrogen for 1000 seconds

Atoms made of a particle and an antiparticle are unstable, usually surviving less than a microsecond. Antihydrogen, made entirely of antiparticles, is believed to be stable, and it is this longevity that holds the promise of precision studies of matter-antimatter symmetry. We have recently demonstrated trapping of antihydrogen atoms by releasing them after a confinement time of 172 ms. A critical question for future studies is: how long can anti-atoms be trapped? Here we report the observation of anti-atom confinement for 1000 s, extending our earlier results by nearly four orders of magnitude. Our calculations indicate that most of the trapped anti-atoms reach the ground state. Further, we report the first measurement of the energy distribution of trapped antihydrogen which, coupled with detailed comparisons with simulations, provides a key tool for the systematic investigation of trapping dynamics. These advances open up a range of experimental possibilities, including precision studies of CPT symmetry and cooling to temperatures where gravitational effects could become apparent.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2011

Alpha Antihydrogen Experiment

ALPHA is an experiment at CERN, whose ultimate goal is to perform a precise test of CPT symmetry with trapped antihydrogen atoms. After reviewing the motivations, we discuss our recent progress toward the initial goal of stable trapping of antihydrogen, with some emphasis on particle detection techniques.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2011

Liquid Xenon Detectors for Positron Emission Tomography

PET is a functional imaging technique based on detection of annihilation photons following beta decay producing positrons. In this paper, we present the concept of a new PET system for preclinical applications consisting of a ring of twelve time projection chambers filled with liquid xenon viewed by avalanche photodiodes. Simultaneous measurement of ionization charge and scintillation light leads to a significant improvement to spatial resolution, image quality, and sensitivity. Simulated performance shows that an energy resolution of <10% (FWHM) and a sensitivity of 15% are achievable. First tests with a prototype TPC indicate position resolution <1 mm (FWHM).

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2010

Evaporative Cooling of Antiprotons to Cryogenic Temperatures

We report the application of evaporative cooling to clouds of trapped antiprotons, resulting in plasmas with measured temperature as low as 9~K. We have modeled the evaporation process for charged particles using appropriate rate equations. Good agreement between experiment and theory is observed, permitting prediction of cooling efficiency in future experiments. The technique opens up new possibilities for cooling of trapped ions and is of particular interest in antiproton physics, where a precise \emph{CPT} test on trapped antihydrogen is a long-standing goal.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2010

Registration of neutral charmed mesons production and their decays in pA-interactions at 70 GeV with SVD-2 setup

The results of data handling for E-184 experiment obtained with 70 GeV proton beam irradiation of active target with carbon, silicon and lead plates are presented. Two-prongs neutral charmed D0 and Ď0 -mesons decays were selected. Signal / background ratio was (51+/-17) / (38+/-13). Registration efficiency for mesons was defined and evaluation for charm production cross section at threshold energy is presented: sigma(cĉ) = 7.1 +/- 2.4(stat.) +/- 1.4(syst.) (μ/nucleon).

hep-ex↗

arXiv2010

Study of a Large NaI(Tl) Crystal

Using a narrow band positron beam, the response of a large high-resolution NaI(Tl) crystal to an incident positron beam was measured. It was found that nuclear interactions cause the appearance of additional peaks in the low energy tail of the deposited energy spectrum.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2010

Antihydrogen formation dynamics in a multipolar neutral anti-atom trap

Antihydrogen production in a neutral atom trap formed by an octupole-based magnetic field minimum is demonstrated using field-ionization of weakly bound anti-atoms. Using our unique annihilation imaging detector, we correlate antihydrogen detection by imaging and by field-ionization for the first time. We further establish how field-ionization causes radial redistribution of the antiprotons during antihydrogen formation and use this effect for the first simultaneous measurements of strongly and weakly bound antihydrogen atoms. Distinguishing between these provides critical information needed in the process of optimizing for trappable antihydrogen. These observations are of crucial importance to the ultimate goal of performing CPT tests involving antihydrogen, which likely depends upon trapping the anti-atom.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2010

High Purity Pion Beam at TRIUMF

An extension of the TRIUMF M13 low-energy pion channel designed to suppress positrons based on an energy-loss technique is described. A source of beam channel momentum calibration from the decay pi+ --> e+ nu is also described.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2009

Simultaneous reconstruction of scintillation light and ionization charge produced by 511 keV photons in liquid xenon : potential application to PET

In order to assess the performance of liquid xenon detectors for use in positron emission tomography we studied the scintillation light and ionization charge produced by 511 keV photons in a small prototype detector. Scintillation light was detected with large area avalanche photodiodes while ionization electrons were collected on an anode instrumented with low noise electronics after drifting up to 3 cm. Operational conditions were studied as a function of the electric field. Energy resolutions of <10 % (FWHM) were achieved by combining the scintillation light and ionization charge signals. The relationship between scintillation light and ionization signals was investigated. An analysis of the sources of fluctuations was performed in order to optimize future detector designs.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2008

A novel antiproton radial diagnostic based on octupole induced ballistic loss

We report results from a novel diagnostic that probes the outer radial profile of trapped antiproton clouds. The diagnostic allows us to determine the profile by monitoring the time-history of antiproton losses that occur as an octupole field in the antiproton confinement region is increased. We show several examples of how this diagnostic helps us to understand the radial dynamics of antiprotons in normal and nested Penning-Malmberg traps. Better understanding of these dynamics may aid current attempts to trap antihydrogen atoms.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2008

Compression of Antiproton Clouds for Antihydrogen Trapping

Control of the radial profile of trapped antiproton clouds is critical to trapping antihydrogen. We report the first detailed measurements of the radial manipulation of antiproton clouds, including areal density compressions by factors as large as ten, by manipulating spatially overlapped electron plasmas. We show detailed measurements of the near-axis antiproton radial profile and its relation to that of the electron plasma.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2008

Particle Physics Aspects of Antihydrogen Studies with ALPHA at CERN

We discuss aspects of antihydrogen studies, that relate to particle physics ideas and techniques, within the context of the ALPHA experiment at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator facility. We review the fundamental physics motivations for antihydrogen studies, and their potential physics reach. We argue that initial spectroscopy measurements, once antihydrogen is trapped, could provide competitive tests of CPT, possibly probing physics at the Planck Scale. We discuss some of the particle detection techniques used in ALPHA. Preliminary results from commissioning studies of a partial system of the ALPHA Si vertex detector are presented, the results of which highlight the power of annihilation vertex detection capability in antihydrogen studies.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2007

Towards Antihydrogen Confinement with the ALPHA Antihydrogen Trap

ALPHA is an international project that has recently begun experimentation at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator (AD) facility. The primary goal of ALPHA is stable trapping of cold antihydrogen atoms with the ultimate goal of precise spectroscopic comparisons with hydrogen. We discuss the status of the ALPHA project and the prospects for antihydrogen trapping.

nucl-ex↗