AEgIS experiment

[1] Indirect bounds that assume the validity of, for example, the universality of free fall, the Weak Equivalence Principle or CPT symmetry also in the case of antimatter constrain an anomalous gravitational behavior to a level where only precision measurements can provide answers.

Since 2014, two laser systems with tunable wavelengths (few picometer precision) and synchronized to the nanosecond for specific atomic excitation have been successfully commissioned.

The aspired experimental setup uses the Moiré deflectometer to measure the vertical displacement of a beam of cold antihydrogen atoms traveling in Earth's gravitational field.

[5] An intense radioactive β+ source (22Na) was used to produce positrons, which were accumulated in a Surko-type storage trap at low pressure (3e-8 mbar).

These positrons were implanted into a nano-structured porous silicon target in order to efficiently form positronium (Ps) - even at cryogenic temperatures in Ultra-high vacuum (UHV).

[3] Inside the Malmberg–Penning trap, the charge exchange reaction between cold antiprotons and Rydberg-Ps took place, leading to the formation of Rydberg-antihydrogen with high efficiency in the form of a 4π pulse.

This pattern is highly sensitive to small vertical displacements of the anti-atoms during their horizontal flight - the Earth's gravitational force on antihydrogen can thus be determined.