B. Jasińska

Positronium states in the pores of silica gel

The lifetime spectra of positrons annihilating in silica gels with pore radii from 2 to 10 nm were measured, and the results compared with the predictions made by the Tao–Eldrup model extended to include the annihilation of positronium from the excited states in the potential well. The long-lived parts of the spectra were analysed as a sum of 1–3 components with continuous λ distributions (gaussian in the logarithmic scale). The 1p state population in Si40 is demonstrated; the decay constant of ortho-Ps in it agrees quite well with the model estimate and the growth of intensity with temperature resembles that expected from the Boltzmann distribution. In one-component fit the lifetimes at the maximum of λ distribution at a room temperature for various pore radii were found also to be very close to the calculated lifetime averaged over all states of the positronium particle in the rectangular potential well.

ORTHO-POSITRONIUM LIFETIMES IN NONSPHERICAL VOIDS

Experimental values of o-Ps lifetime were compared with model calculations, approximating the voids in a solid by spheres or cuboids. In the case of resorcinol the model of spherical voids is well consistent with the experimental data. For channel-like free volumes the formula, analogous to that for spheres, gives systematically the values of o-Ps lifetime too large. No positronium is found in anthracene, although the radius of free volume is larger than 0.97 Å at which the Ps binding energy should be zero.

Positronium lifetimes in porous Vycor glass

Abstract The ortho-positronium lifetimes in porous Vycor glass were measured in a wide range of pore radii. A good correlation of the most probable lifetime with the model accounting for the population of upper levels of a particle in the potential well was observed. For channel-like voids (capillaries in porous media) a new value of the empirical parameter, Δ R , entering in the semi-empirical Eldrup equation, is proposed: Δ R =(0.191±0.007) nm; it explains some of the discrepancies previously found in crystalline solids.

Positronium in large voids. Silicagel

Abstract The lifetime spectra of positrons annihilating in a porous medium (silicagel) were measured a function of temperature. In the low temperature limit the lifetime of o-Ps in the pores agrees rather well with the popular Tao-Eldrup formula. With the rise of temperature the second long-lived component grows; that component was identified as o-Ps annihilation from the 1p-like state in the potential well. The lifetimes of o-Ps in various states of the spherical well have been calculated. The experimental value of the lifetime for the 1p state is in good agreement withe model calculation.

Temperature variations of average o-Ps lifetime in porous media

Abstract Modification of the Tao–Eldrup model is proposed in order to extend its usefulness to the case of porous media. The modification consists in the transition from spherical to capillary geometry and in inclusion of pick-off annihilation from the excited states of a particle in the well. Approximated equations for pick-off constant in these states are given. The model was tested by observing the temperature dependences of o-Ps lifetime in various media. In the case of silica gels and Vycor glass with narrow pores, the model seems to work well, while for larger pores in Vycor unexpectedly long lifetimes appear in the range of lowest temperatures.

Time resolution of the plastic scintillator strips with matrix photomultiplier readout for J-PET tomograph.

Recent tests of a single module of the Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomography system (J-PET) consisting of 30 cm long plastic scintillator strips have proven its applicability for the detection of annihilation quanta (0.511 MeV) with a coincidence resolving time (CRT) of 0.266 ns. The achieved resolution is almost by a factor of two better with respect to the current TOF-PET detectors and it can still be improved since, as it is shown in this article, the intrinsic limit of time resolution for the determination of time of the interaction of 0.511 MeV gamma quanta in plastic scintillators is much lower. As the major point of the article, a method allowing to record timestamps of several photons, at two ends of the scintillator strip, by means of matrix of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) is introduced. As a result of simulations, conducted with the number of SiPM varying from 4 to 42, it is shown that the improvement of timing resolution saturates with the growing number of photomultipliers, and that the [Formula: see text] configuration at two ends allowing to read twenty timestamps, constitutes an optimal solution. The conducted simulations accounted for the emission time distribution, photon transport and absorption inside the scintillator, as well as quantum efficiency and transit time spread of photosensors, and were checked based on the experimental results. Application of the [Formula: see text] matrix of SiPM allows for achieving the coincidence resolving time in positron emission tomography of [Formula: see text]0.170 ns for 15 cm axial field-of-view (AFOV) and [Formula: see text]0.365 ns for 100 cm AFOV. The results open perspectives for construction of a cost-effective TOF-PET scanner with significantly better TOF resolution and larger AFOV with respect to the current TOF-PET modalities.

On possible deviations of experimental PALS data from positronium pick-off model estimates

Abstract The sources of possible inconsistency between the models of trapped positronium annihilation and experimental data are discussed. There are two such sources: excessive simplifications in the models of pick-off process and appearance of other processes not accounted in the models. In the case of the smallest traps, the penetration depth of ortho-positronium (o-Ps) wavefunction into the bulk can be larger than usually assumed. In traps of sizes exceeding 1 nm the population of excited levels in the well has to be taken into account. For such large voids the sources of divergence of the experiment and model predictions can be: escape of o-Ps from open pores to outside, chemical interaction of o-Ps with pore surfaces (adsorbate layers), the presence of impurities inside free volumes.

Sampling FEE and Trigger-less DAQ for the J-PET Scanner

In this paper, we present a complete Data Acquisition System (DAQ) together with the readout mechanisms for the J-PET tomography scanner. In general detector readout chain is constructed out of Front-End Electronics (FEE), measurement devices like Time-to-Digital or Analog-to-Digital Converters (TDCs or ADCs), data collectors and storage. We have developed a system capable for maintaining continuous readout of digitized data without preliminary selection. Such operation mode results in up to 8 Gbps data stream, therefore it is required to introduce a dedicated module for online event building and feature extraction. The Central Controller Module, equipped with Xilinx Zynq SoC and 16 optical transceivers serves as such true real time computing facility. Our solution for the continuous data recording (trigger-less) is a novel approach in such detector systems and assures that most of the information is preserved on the storage for further, high-level processing. Signal discrimination applies an unique method of using LVDS buffers located in the FPGA fabric.

Potential of the J-PET Detector for Studies of Discrete Symmetries in Decays of Positronium Atom --- A Purely Leptonic System

The Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomograph (J-PET) was constructed as a prototype of the cost-effective scanner for the simultaneous metabolic imaging of the whole human body. Being optimized for the detection of photons from the electron-positron annihilation with high time- and high angular-resolution, it constitutes a multi-purpose detector providing new opportunities for studying the decays of positronium atoms. Positronium is the lightest purely leptonic object decaying into photons. As an atom bound by a central potential it is a parity eigenstate, and as an atom built out of an electron and an anti-electron it is an eigenstate of the charge conjugation operator. Therefore, the positronium is a unique laboratory to study discrete symmetries whose precision is limited in principle by the effects due to the weak interactions expected at the level of (~10

A feasibility study of ortho-positronium decays measurement with the J-PET scanner based on plastic scintillators

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