Matthew Turner Rose Hills
Optimized Transport of Particles in a Penning Trap
Throughout the summer, I will be undertaking my project with the Fajans Nonneutral Plasma Physics Group in Berkeley. One of the central steps in many tests done with the cold electron research (CERES) apparatus in Berkeley and with the ALPHA Experiment at CERN involves the transport of a nonneutral plasma (electrons, antiprotons, ions, etc.) between potential wells in a Penning Trap. The basic process is that a cloud of charged particles is trapped using static electric and magnetic fields in a potential well on one side of the trap and in order to perform diagnostics or in order to image the plasma, one needs to transport the plasma to a separate well on the other side of the trap. The purpose of this project is to optimize this transfer so that loss of plasma and heating effects are minimized.One of the central steps in many tests done with the apparatus in Berkeley and with the ALPHA Experiment at CERN involves the transport of a nonneutral plasma (electrons, antiprotons, ions, etc.) between potential wells in a Penning Trap. The basic process is that a plasma is trapped using static electric and magnetic fields in a potential well on one side of the trap and in order to perform diagnostics or in order to image the plasma, one needs to transport the plasma to a separate well on the other side of the trap. The purpose of this project is to optimize this transfer so that loss of plasma and heating effects are minimized.
Message To Sponsor
This project is the culmination of my work in my lab for the past 2 years. It is my opportunity to show my ability to carry out a complicated project through from planning to paper and it is my first step into what academia truly is. Throughout the course of the summer, I aspire to be able to confront all of the theoretical and experimental difficulties faced and surmount them to accomplish a senior thesis. I also hope to gain a better intuition and appreciation for physics research.