The positronium atom (Ps) is widely used as a probe to characterize nanoporous and mesoporous materials. Existing theoretical models for describing Ps annihilation rates by pick-off processes generally treat Ps as a point particle confined in a potential well. Hence these models do not justify any change in the internal structure of Ps, which is experimentally accessible by means of the contact density parameter. Recently we formulated a two-particle model in which only the electron is confined in the cavity, while the positron is moving freely and feels the medium via a positive work function. We present here a numerical treatment of the problem of calculating contact densities and pick-off annihilation rates, by using a variational method. Results are in agreement with experimental data for a large class of materials, and suggest a way to connect these data with pore sizes and positron work functions.
The primary goal of the Antihydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEGIS) collaboration is to measure for the first time precisely the gravitational acceleration of antihydrogen, H̅, a fundamental issue of contemporary physics, using a beam of antiatoms. Indeed, although indirect arguments have been raised against a different acceleration of antimatter with respect to matter, nevertheless some attempts to formulate quantum theories of gravity, or to unify gravity with the other forces, consider the possibility of a non-identical gravitational interaction between matter and antimatter. We plan to generate H̅ through a charge-exchange reaction between excited Ps and antiprotons coming from the Antiproton Decelerator facility at CERN. It offers the advantage to produce sufficiently cold antihydrogen to make feasible a measurement of gravitational acceleration with reasonable uncertainty (of the order of a few percent). Since the cross-section of the above reaction increases with n⁴, n being the principal quantum number of Ps, it is essential to generate Ps in a highly excited (Rydberg) state. This will occur by means of two laser excitations of Ps emitted from a nanoporous silica target: a first UV laser (at 205 nm) will bring Ps from the ground to the n=3 state; a second laser pulse (tunable in the range 1650-1700 nm) will further excite Ps to the Rydberg state.
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