T. Worm

Ionization of helium and molecular hydrogen by slow antiprotons

Measurements of the cross sections for single and double ionization of helium as well as for the creation of H2+ and H+ ions from H2 for impact of antiprotons in the energy range 13-500 keV are presented. The results are compared with our earlier, less accurate data and with data for equivelocity proton impact. The single ionization cross section of helium agrees remarkably well with a continuum distorted wave (CDW-EIS) calculation. The ratio between the double and the single ionization cross sections of helium increases dramatically with decreasing projectile energy. New theoretical calculations are called for.

Observation of high deflection efficiency and narrow energy loss distributions for 450 GeV protons channeled in a bent silicon crystal

Abstract A 450 GeV proton beam has been deflected by various angles from 1 to 11 mrad using planar channeling in a (111) silicon crystal which was mechanically bent to achieve the desired beam deflection. High deflection efficiencies of up to 50% have been measured, in good agreement with present theoretical estimates. It is shown that bent crystals are also a unique tool for measurements of energy loss and straggling of channeled particles, without any influence from random particles: Selecting protons which are deflected by increasing angles corresponds to decreasing the transverse energy at the crystal entrance. With this technique energy loss and straggling was measured for protons channeled in the wide and narrow (111) planes in silicon for the first time.

Measurement of the stopping power of silicon for antiprotons between 0.2 and 3 MeV

Our previous measurement of the stopping power of silicon for antiprotons has been extended down to 200 keV. The antiproton stopping power is found to be more than 30% lower than that for equivelocity protons at 200 keV. The “Z13 contribution” to the stopping power (the Barkas effect) is deduced by comparing the stopping power for protons and antiprotons. Comparisons to theoretical estimates are made.

Measurement of the antiproton stopping power of gold - the Barkas effect

Abstract The stopping power of gold has been measured for antiprotons in the energy range 0.2–3 MeV using a novel time-of-flight technique. The antiproton stopping power is found to be less than half the equivalent proton stopping power near the electronic stopping power maximum. In the high-energy limit the two stopping powers merge.

Measurement of pair production by high-energy photons in an aligned tungsten crystal

Abstract A new measurement has been made of the rate of pair-production in a 3.2 mm thick tungsten crystal, exposed to photons with energies in the range 10 to 150 GeV, for angles of incidence up to 10 mrad from the crystal axis. A strong enhancement of the pair-production rate is observed when the beam is aligned along the 〈100〉 crystal axis, as compared to a random orientation. This effect can be exploited in the NA48 CP-violation experiment by using a thin crystal rather than an amorphous material to convert photons, thus minimising the scattering of kaons in the converter.

NEW RESULTS FROM THE CERN-SPS BEAM DEFLECTION EXPERIMENTS WITH BENT CRYSTALS

Abstract Results from five distinct bending experiments performed recently in the H8 beam at CERN are presented. Firstly, deflection of a positive pion beam at 200 GeV/c is compared to the “standard” 450-GeV/c proton beam for a bending angle of 3.1 mrad along the (111) plane in a 50 mm silicon crystal. Second, deflection of negative pions at 200 GeV/c is investigated for the same crystal, for incidence along the (111) plane as well as the 〈110〉 axis. Small deflection effects are seen, but no negative particles are bent through the full bending angle of the crystal. Third, the first results from beam deflection at high energy using a germanium crystal are shown. Slightly higher deflection efficiencies than for silicon are seen for large bending angles, but significantly smaller than expected for such a crystal with higher atomic number. Fourth, deflection efficiencies using a strongly irradiated silicon crystal have been measured for the first time, and a small reduction in efficiency is seen in the irradiated region. Finally, deflection of positive particles using axial alignment of a bent silicon crystal has been investigated at 450 GeV/c. Qualitatively similar behaviour as in previous experiments at 12 GeV/c is seen; the beam splits into several beams corresponding to the different planes, and even weak planes are observed.

Experimental investigations of hard photon emission from strong crystalline fields

Abstract For the first time very pronounced high-energy photon peaks have been measured in the radiation emission from 70, 150 and 240 GeV electrons incident at 0.1–1.0 mrad to the axis in diamond and Si crystals. The energy of the photons in the peaks is 0.7–0.8 times the particle energy with yields of 50 times the Bethe-Heitler one (in diamond). The peaks consist of single photons and are caused by the influence of strong crystalline fields on emission of coherent bremsstrahlung, emitted when the ultrarelativistic electrons cross the rows of atoms in a crystal plane. The effect should be envisaged as a source for nearly monoenergetic photons in the multihundred GeV-region.

Experimental investigation of photon multiplicity and radiation cooling for 150 GeV electrons/positrons traversing diamond and Si crystals

Abstract Detailed experimental investigations of photon multiplicities for 150 GeV electrons/positrons traversing thin diamond and Si crystals have been performed. Along axial directions up to 10 photons are emitted in 1.5 mm diamond for a radiative energy loss larger than 4 GeV. This corresponds to a mean free path for photon emission of about two orders of magnitude shorter than in an amorphous target. This is in agreement with an enhanced radiative energy loss of ∼ 30 times that in amorphous targets. The strongly enhanced photon emission leads to radiation cooling which can result in particles exiting the crystal with a reduced angle to the axis. For incidences along planar directions the average multiplicity is still above one, even for the thinnest crystals used in the present experiment, so a single-photon spectrum can only be obtained for thicknesses ≤50 μm, which, on the other hand, is comparable to the coherence lengths for GeV photons, leading to destruction of the coherent effects.

Deflection of 200 GeV/c and 450 GeV/c positively charged particles in a bent germanium crystal

Abstract Experimental results on high-energy beam deflection by means of a bent germanium crystal are presented. Record deflection efficiencies of 60% have been found for 450 GeV/c protons at small angles. The results obtained with 200 and 450 GeV/c positively charged particles are well described by a classical model, giving confidence in predictions for other crystals and different beam momenta.

GENERATION AND DETECTION OF THE POLARIZATION OF MULTI-GEV PHOTONS BY USE OF TWO DIAMOND CRYSTALS

Abstract Presented are experimental results for the difference in pair production probability (the asymmetry) for 5–150 GeV photons polarized parallel and perpendicular to a (110) plane in a 1.5 mm thick diamond 〈100〉 crystal. The photons are produced by interaction of 150 GeV electrons with an aligned diamond 〈100〉 crystal of 0.5 mm thickness. A significant asymmetry is found over the whole energy range, which corresponds to a high degree of linear polarization of the photons as well as a difference in the refractive index. This proof-of-principle result gives the possibility of producing high energy photons with circular polarization by use of a crystal. This might open for several opportunities in high energy physics like for instance the investigation of the contribution of the gluons to the spin of the nucleon.