Physics with Antimatter - Science, not Fiction
Lecture notes
Transparencies 1 (Carsten Welsch) (PDF - 10.8 MB)
Transparencies 2 (Carsten Welsch) (PDF - 4.9 MB)
Transparencies 3 (Carsten Welsch) (PDF - 4 MB)
Transparencies 4 (Dieter Grzonka) (PDF - 4.4 MB)
Transparencies 5 (Dieter Grzonka) (PDF - 9.5 MB)
Transparencies 6 (Dieter Grzonka) (PDF - 8.2 MB)
Abstract
Antimatter has always had its place in public attention due to a number of prominent science fiction series or bestseller books, like e.g. Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons". Less known, however, is the fact that low-energy antiprotons are an ideal tool to directly address some of the most fundamental, yet unanswered questions in science, both on atomic and cosmic scales: Why is there a matter/antimatter asymmetry in the universe? Do antimatter atoms feel the same effect of gravity as matter atoms? How can one obtain detailed information about atomic collision processes, the structure of nuclei or the elementary hadronic interaction?
Low energy antiprotons allow very different studies like high precision
spectroscopy in the neutral antihydrogen or 'snap-shots' on the
femtosecond scale of quantum mechanical systems via antiproton
collisions.
This course will address the challenges of beyond state-of-the-art
accelerator complexes and trap facilities as well as the wide
experimental program possible with these exotic particles. It will clean
up with long-lasting myths while showing the true excitement of this
field.
Carsten Welsch
Dieter Grzonka
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