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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/R81541/01
Title: The Manipulation of Positronium: Laser Interactions and Magnetised Rydberg States
Principal Investigator: Charlton, Professor M
Other Investigators:
Telle, Professor HH
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Physics
Organisation: Swansea University
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 October 2002 Ends: 30 June 2006 Value (£): 632,979
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Cold Atomic Species Scattering & Spectroscopy
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
A novel and wide-ranging study of the positronium atom is proposed, including spectroscopic investigations of its formation from surfaces and its manipulation using external fields. Lasers will be used to excite positronium, in two-step excitation schemes, from the ground state to levels with principal quantum numbers between four and twenty. The resonant transitions will be detected by a further excitation to the continuum such that the positron fragment can be counted. The application of a strong (several Tesla) static magnetic field will allow the study of magnetised Rydberg positronium. This new entity has recently been observed in experiments in which positrons are accumulated in high-field Penning traps. The proposal will address the many open questions concerning mechanisms of formation, the kinetic energy and distribution of principal quantum numbers of the Rydberg positronium and the efficiency of transport of the magnetised particle/antiparticle pair along the axis of the magnetic field.The proposal seeks to access new regimes of two-body bound state physics, primarily through the high field studies.
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Organisation Website: http://www.swan.ac.uk