We played a key role in shaping the Technical Proposal for the Facility of Low Energy Antiproton and Ion Research (FLAIR) at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Germany and served as FLAIR Spokesperson from 2015 to 2018. FLAIR aimed to pioneer a cutting-edge research program with low-energy antiprotons. Although the project was not realized due to constraints at FAIR, it inspired the enhancement of the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN.
This led to the development of the Extra Low Energy Antiproton ring (ELENA), providing cooled antiproton beams ideal for advanced particle trap experiments. As a co-editor of the ELENA Design Report, Professor Welsch helped optimize the facility's performance through innovative beam cooling techniques and instrumentation. Many other QUASARs contributed to the design and optimization of this world-wide unique facility over the years.
Professor Welsch also led the 4M€ Accelerators Validating Antimatter physics (AVA) network, which ran from 2016 to 2021 and advanced beam transport simulations, developed cutting-edge sensor solutions, and enabled scientific breakthrough experiments with antimatter. The project was commended as an EU success story by the Research Executive Agency.
Our groundbreaking work on antimatter research is currently supported by the 1 M€ EPSRC project SNAP and the Cockcroft Institute core grant. It includes developing positronium laser cooling techniques, contributing to enhanced antiproton beam quality through ELENA, and innovating non-invasive 3D field mapping sensors. Our outreach activities have explained the challenges of antimatter research to audiences around the world.
Image: ELENA ring - start of first beam. (Credit: Maximilien Brice/CERN)
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