Moiré Deflectometry with a Low-Energy Ion Beam for the AEGIS Experiment

Overview & Synopsis

Although numerous experiments investigate the properties of antimatter in the weak, strong and electromagnetic sector, the gravitational interaction for these objects remains an open question. By observing the free-fall of antihydrogen atoms, the AEGIS experiment plans toperform the first measurement of the gravitational acceleration on antimatter. The device envisioned for such an experiment consists in a set of three transmission gratings with a pitch of few micrometers, associated with a high resolution imaging detector. This thesis focuses on testing such a device with a low-energy ion beam, enabling one to measure simultaneously the magnitude of surrounding electric and magnetic fields. The sensitivity achieved makes such an apparatus competitive with state-of-the-art fieldmeters. An effort is moreover initiated to perform the same experiment with smaller grating periodicities since it could reveal the quantum interference of the ions. In order to probe the quantum behavior of protons, the effects which might destroy the interference pattern are reviewed and discussed. We finally detail the implementation of a velocity selector and a silicon detector dedicated to low energy antiprotons. These two components are indeed a prerequisite to perform for the first time theinterference of antimatter particles