NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
RF Manipulation of Ions in the High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT)The annihilation of antimatter provides the highest mass specific energy of any other known reaction. Proper harnessing of this energy holds great promise for future space propulsion systems. Many different propulsion concepts have been proposed that take advantage of antimatter, either using matter-antimatter as the primary fuel, or as a 'spark plug' for fusion and fission systems. In order to begin to address these concepts experimentally, a method of storing and transporting antimatter must be developed. The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) is a first-generation storage and transportation device designed to store and transport 10(exp 12) antiprotons with a storage half-life of 18 days. It uses a Penning-Malmberg ion trap with a 4T magnetic field and 20 kV potential. This will enable researchers much more flexibility in the design of antimatter experiments related to propulsion. Ions cannot be stored indefinitely in a real trap, as ion cloud instabilities develop from imperfections in manufacturing and misalignments in assembly. Previous work has been done at both the National Institute of Standards and University of California in San Diego in using RF (radio frequency) signals to both diagnose and confine the ion cloud. Two electrodes in the trap have been segmented to allow both reception and transmission of RF waves in the ion cloud. Experiments are underway to determine the number of ions and density in the cloud by "listening" to protons contained in the HiPAT. Currently we believe the density of ions stored in the trap is roughly 10(exp 15) m(exp -3). Development of non-destructive techniques is vital to the project goals, enabling continuous monitoring of the quantities stored in the system. Experimental work is also being done in identifying RF transmission frequencies that can manipulate the density of the cloud, by exchanging energy and momentum between the RF wave and the ions. Preliminary experiments have demonstrated this interaction.
Document ID
20020067456
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Pearson, J. Boise
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Martin, James J.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Sims, William H.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Chakrabarti, Suman
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Lewis, Raymond A.
(Lewis (R.) Co. Huntsville, AL United States)
Rodgers, Stephen L.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2002
Subject Category
Nuclear Physics
Meeting Information
Meeting: Space Technology and Application International Forum (SPAIF) 2003
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Country: United States
Start Date: February 2, 2003
End Date: February 6, 2003
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available