EU awards more than 600 k€ to support QUASAR Group Research
Low energy antimatter experiments and the development of new beam diagnostics techniques for charged particle beams and are two of the main research areas in the pan-European QUASAR Group. The EU has just announced that it will support the activities in these areas via two grants.
Antimatter experiments are at the cutting edge of science; impressively underlined through the award of ‘most important physics breakthrough’ in 2010 to the successful trapping of antihydrogen by physicsworld. They are, however, very difficult to realize and presently limited by the performance of the only existing facility in the world, the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN. To enable the efficient investigation of essentially all these important questions, a new experimental facility, the Extra Low ENergy Antiproton ring (ELENA) will be built. Within the BeaPhy project a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship for experienced researchers will allow Dr. Javier Resta-Lopez from the University of Valencia to join us and address some of the key challenges in the design, construction and operation of ELENA through beam dynamics studies. This work will be an important contribution to an international effort in optimizing the experimental performance for all antimatter experiments at the AD. Dr. Lopez has previously worked at CERN and the University of Oxford and will strengthen the existing beam physics expertise in our group.
Beam diagnostics systems are essential constituents of any particle accelerator; they reveal the properties of a beam and how it behaves in a machine. Without an appropriate set of diagnostic elements, it would simply be impossible to operate any accelerator complex, let alone optimize its performance. Of particular importance are beam diagnostics methods based on light emitted by a beam of charged particles, such as synchrotron radiation, optical transition radiation, diffraction radiation and Smith-Purcell radiation. The goal of the DITA-IIF project is to advance the state of the art of optical beam diagnostics to meet the requirements of the present and next generation of accelerators. Dr. Ralph Fiorito who is an internationally renowned expert in optical diagnostics will join the Group through an International Incoming Fellowship to develop minimally invasive methods for low to medium power accelerators and non-invasive techniques for very intense, high power accelerators.
Prof. Carsten Welsch, Group leader and PI on both grants: "It is absolutely fantastic news that two researchers with such impressive backgrounds will join us. They have outstanding track records and will allow us to carry out a cutting-edge research program in two truly exciting areas."
The BeaPhy project is funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement number 624854 and DITA-IIF under number 624890.
Marie Curie Fellowships are individual fellowships that aim to allow top-class researchers to undertake research in Europe. Proposals from all areas of scientific and technological research of interest to the European Community are accepted and there are no pre-defined priority areas. Grants are awarded through a highly competitive process.