The AEgIS experiment at the anti-matter factory at CERN is an experiment which is built to test if antimatter falls to Earth like regular matter by measuring the gravitational pull on a beam of antihydrogen atoms. It uses antiprotons from the AD/ELENA decelerators and pioneering laser cooling of positronium to form anti-hydrogen. Neutral antihydrogen travels through a grid and hits a position-sensitive detector when it annihilate. The experiment is also a very powerful too to study anti-matter overall but also has very interesting opportunities to study quantum effect and could become important in quantum sensing.
Two or more master projects are available working on the AEGIS experiment:
A. Studies of laser cooling using simulations and data from previous studies to enhance the use of lasers to manipulate positronium and anti-matter. Positron production and manipulation is one of the limiting factors of anti-hydrogen production. A higher number of anti-hydrogen will open for many new research opportunities.
B. Silicon strip detector tailored for antimatter experiments at CERN development and characterization. Techniques in electronics for wire bonding and tests with a picosecond laser to simulate the decay of antimatter particle in the silicon strips. The student will take part in the assembly of a second-generation detector with VATAGP9 chips and will be exposed to the different steps of the conception of such a detector (design of the electronic and powering board, micro-bonding, Field-Programmable Gate Array)
C. Study of anti-matter detection methods. Pixel cameras are currently used to detect anti-matter and to measure the fall of anti-hydrogen. The student would contribute to this effort as well as study the operation of previously developed ASICs for ultra-cold operation.
D. Other projects in discussion with the student.
If funding is available the student is expected to travel to CERN for shorter or longer stays
Courses relevant from the bachelor's degree:
Recommended courses for theoretical curriculum in the master's programme: