AEgIS: Status and Prospects

TL;DR

The AEgIS collaboration is advancing towards directly measuring the gravitational free-fall of neutral antimatter atoms, with recent developments including a pulsed antihydrogen source and new experimental upgrades at CERN.

Contribution

The paper reports on the latest progress and technical upgrades in the AEgIS experiment aimed at measuring antimatter gravity.

Findings

First pulsed cold antihydrogen source developed

Successful re-start at CERN ELENA with initial antiproton capture

Implementation of new antihydrogen production and trapping systems

Abstract

The progresses of the AEgIS collaboration on its way towards directly measuring the gravitational free-fall of neutral antimatter atoms are reviewed. The experiment recently developed the first pulsed cold antihydrogen source and entered in its second phase, aiming at the first proof-of-concept gravitational measurement. Several major upgrades were deployed, including an upgraded antihydrogen production scheme and a fully-redesigned antiproton trap. AEgIS re-started its operation on the new CERN ELENA decelerator in late 2021, capturing its first antiprotons and commissioning its new antiproton energy degrading system and hardware/software control systems.