Antihydrogen by Positronium-Antiproton Interaction

Abstract

A method for producing antihydrogen, $\overline{H}$ , by positronium-antiproton collisions in

$$\overline{p}+Ps\to \overline{H}+\overline{e}$$

an antiproton ion-trap (see Fig.l) has been published by us earlier in Ref.l. The reaction involves the transfer of the positron, e⁺, from positronium. This reaction has a large cross section [2–4] such that useful fluxes of H can be achieved. Included in the above article are the calculated capture cross sections, short descriptions of the slow positron beam, positronium-formation, and the antiproton ion-trap to be used for antihydrogen production. With presently available technology, collimated monoenergetic $\overline{H}$ beams with an energy of a few KeV and intensity of the order of one per second can be produced by this method. Possible enhancements of this rate are also discussed.