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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

Positronium-hydrogen elastic scattering

Elastic scattering of positronium atoms by hydrogen atoms below the excitation threshold at 5.1 eV is investigated with the investigation limited to the spin-zero (singlet) state of the two electrons. Nonresonant S-wave phase shifts have been obtained from normalizable trial functions by extracting the center-of-mass wave function and examining its spatial behavior. An effective-range expansion is fitted to the phase shifts and the previously obtained positronium-hydride bound-state energy to yield a scattering length approximately equal to 5.3 Bohr radii as compared with Fraser's (1961) corrected exchange result of 7.28 Bohr radii. The stabilization method suggests that a resonance occurs at a scattering energy of 4.5 eV, about 0.6 eV below the excitation threshold. Using the complex-rotation method, evidence is obtained which confirms the existence of the resonance, and its width is estimated to be about 0.06 eV.

Drachman, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Differential cross section for positronium formation in positron-atomic-hydrogen collisions

The differential cross section for positronium formation in its ground state due to collision of a positron and a hydrogen atom is obtained on the basis of the combination of the L = 0 and 1 (L is the angular momentum quantum number) partial wave amplitudes with the L not less than 2 Born amplitudes. Minima at the scattering angles of 57 and 51 degrees were found for positron energies of 0.64 and 0.75 Ry. Total cross sections for positronium formation at low and intermediate impact energies are presented.

Drachman, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

A resonant state and the ground state of positronium hydride

The lowest-lying resonance occurring in S-wave positronium-hydrogen scattering is reinvestigated, using the complex-rotation method. By employing a generalized Hylleraas-type wave function that includes all six interparticle coordinates, a very accurate value of the resonance position is obtained, along with a good value of the width. The present result for the resonance position (-1.205 plus or minus 0.001 Ry) is lower than the previous result of Drachman and Houston, who omitted the interelectronic coordinate in their trial function. In addition, the lowest ground-state energy of positronium hydride is obtained by using 210 terms in the trial wave function. The effect of the interelectronic coordinate and others on both the resonant energy and the binding energy of PsH is discussed.

Ho, Y. K.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Theory of positronium formation and positron emission at metal surfaces

The range of metallic surface processes available to the implanted positron is examined with a view to bare positron escape, positron surface state trapping, surface state detrapping, and positronium atom conversion. The stopping distance and its rms deviation are calculated. The effect of the elastic positron-ion core scattering, and the finite temperature corrections in the positron-phonon scattering are included. Overall conversion and emission efficiencies are calculated by solving an appropriate diffusion equation with boundary conditions set by the branching ratios for the surface processes. The temperature and incident energy dependence of the results for positronium atom conversion and positron emission efficiency are compared to experimental data.

Nieminen, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

van der Waals force between positronium and hydrogenic atoms Finite-mass corrections

The Feshbach projection-operator formalism is used to derive the asymptotic effective interaction potential between two atoms. Beyond the usual van der Waals potential, falling like x exp -6, three x exp -8 terms are also obtained: an attractive dipole-quadrupole term (absent in the positronium-positronium case because of symmetry), a repulsive energy-dependent term, and a repulsive mass-dependent but energy-independent one. This last term was not obtained by Manson and Ritchie (1985) using an independent method.

Au, C. K.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Approximating the Helium Wavefunction in Positronium-Helium Scattering

In the Kohn variational treatment of the positronium- hydrogen scattering problem the scattering wave function is approximated by an expansion in some appropriate basis set, but the target and projectile wave functions are known exactly. In the positronium-helium case, however, a difficulty immediately arises in that the wave function of the helium target atom is not known exactly, and there are several ways to deal with the associated eigenvalue in formulating the variational scattering equations to be solved. In this work we will use the Kohn variational principle in the static exchange approximation to d e t e e the zero-energy scattering length for the Ps-He system, using a suite of approximate target functions. The results we obtain will be compared with each other and with corresponding values found by other approximation techniques.

DiRienzi, Joseph↗
DOE OSTI2015

Element specificity of ortho-positronium annihilation for alkali-metal loaded SiO{sub 2} glasses

Momentum distributions associated with ortho-positronium (o-Ps) pick-off annihilation photon are often influenced by light elements, as, e.g., carbon, oxygen, and fluorine. This phenomenon, so-called element specificity of o-Ps pick-off annihilation, has been utilized for studying the elemental environment around the open spaces. To gain an insight into the element specificity of o-Ps pick-off annihilation, the chemical shift of oxygen 1s binding energy and the momentum distributions associated with o-Ps pick-off annihilation were systematically investigated for alkali-metal loaded SiO{sub 2} glasses by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and positron-age-momentum correlation spectroscopy, respectively. Alkali metals introduced into the open spaces surrounded by oxygen atoms cause charge transfer from alkali metals to oxygen atoms, leading to the lower chemical shift for the oxygen 1s binding energy. The momentum distribution of o-Ps localized into the open spaces is found to be closely correlated with the oxygen 1s chemical shift. This correlation with the deepest 1s energy level evidences that the element specificity of o-Ps originates from pick-off annihilation with orbital electrons, i.e., dominantly with oxygen 2p valence electrons and s electrons with lower probability.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

New Precise Measurement of the Hyperfine Splitting of Positronium

Positronium (Ps) is an ideal system for precision test of bound state quantum electrodynamics. The hyperfine splitting (HFS) of the ground state of Ps, which is one of the most precisely tested quantity, has a large discrepancy of 16 ppm (4.5 σ) between previous experiments and theoretical calculation up to O(α{sup 3}lnα{sup −1}) and part of O(α{sup 3}) corrections. A new experiment which reduces possible systematic uncertainties of Ps thermalization effect and nonuniformity of magnetic field was performed. It revealed that the Ps thermalization effect was as large as 10 ± 2 ppm. Treating the thermalization effect correctly, a new result of 203.3942 ± 0.0016(stat., 8.0 ppm) ± 0.0013(sys., 6.4 ppm) GHz was obtained. This result is consistent with theory within 1.1 σ, whereas it disfavors the previous experimental result by 2.6 σ. It shows that the Ps thermalization effect is crucial for precision measurement of HFS. Future prospects for improved precision are briefly discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Angle-Resolved Spectroscopy of Positronium Emission from a Cu(110) Surface

We report the affinity A Ps of positronium (Ps) atoms for a metal is the negative of the maximum kinetic energy with which Ps is emitted into vacuum when thermalized positrons in a metal encounter the surface. When this quantity is measured by ground state Ps time of flight (TOF), the precision is severely limited by the short triplet state lifetime of 142 ns. By quickly converting the emitted Ps atoms into long-lived Rydberg states, we are able to dramatically increase the TOF to allow precision measurements of A Ps . From our measurements made on a Cu(110) sample at T = 128 K, we find A Ps (128 K) = (-2.476±0.010 stat ±0.013 syst ) eV, compared with the result A Ps (128 K) = (-2.545±0.010 stat ±0.010 syst ) eV found using highly accurate generalized gradient approximations for both electrons and positrons within density functional theory. Such precision opens up opportunities in the quest for an improved density functional.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Positronium Laser Cooling via the 1 3 S − 2 3 P Transition with a Broadband Laser Pulse

We report on laser cooling of a large fraction of positronium (Ps) in free flight by strongly saturating the 1 3 S − 2 3 P transition with a broadband, long-pulsed 243 nm alexandrite laser. The ground state Ps cloud is produced in a magnetic and electric field-free environment. We observe two different laser-induced effects. The first effect is an increase in the number of atoms in the ground state after the time Ps has spent in the long-lived 2 3 P states. The second effect is one-dimensional Doppler cooling of Ps, reducing the cloud’s temperature from 380(20) to 170(20) K. We demonstrate a 58(9)% increase in the fraction of Ps atoms with v 1 D < 3.7 × 10 4 m s − 1 . Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Glöggler, L. T. (ORCID:0000000301948680)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Positronium: an illustration of nonperturbative renormalization in a basis light-front approach

We calculate the mass spectrum and the structure of the positronium system at a strong coupling in a basis light-front approach. We start from the light-front QED Hamiltonian and retain one dynamical photon in our basis. We perform the fermion mass renormalization associated with the nonperturbative fermion self-energy correction. We present the resulting mass spectrum and wave functions for the selected low-lying states. Next, we apply this approach to QCD and calculate the heavy meson system with one dynamical gluon retained. We illustrate the obtained mass spectrum and wave functions for the selected low-lying states.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Applications of Two Body Dirac Equations to Hadron and Positronium Spectroscopy

We review recent applications of the Two Body Dirac equations of constraint dynamics to meson spectroscopy and describe new extensions to three-body problems in their use in the study of baryon spectroscopy. We outline unique aspects of these equations for QED bound states that distinguish them among the various other approaches to the relativistic two body problem. Finally we discuss recent theoretical solutions of new peculiar bound states for positronium arising from the Two Body Dirac equations of constraint dynamics, assuming point particles for the electron and the positron.

Crater, H. W.↗