Status of the LEPTA Project

Abstract

The Low Energy Positron Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA) is under commissioning at JINR. The LEPTA facility is a small positron storage ring equipped with the electron cooling system. The project positron energy is of 4-10 keV. The main goal of the facility is to generate an intense flow of positronium atoms-the bound state of electron and positron. The focusing system of the LEPTA ring after solenoidal magnetic field remeasurement and correction has been tested with pulsed electron beam by elements. Some resonant effects of beam focusing have been observed. The experiments aiming to increase the life time of the circulating electron beam and test the electron cooling elector beam are in progress. Construction of the pulsed injector of the low energy positrons is close to the completion. The injector is based on 22 Na radioactive isotope and consists of the cryogenic positron source (CPS), the positron trap and the acceleration section. In the CPS positrons from the 22 Na tablet are moderated in the solid neon and transported into the trap, where they are accumulated during about 80 seconds. Then accumulated positrons are extracted by the pulsed electric field and accelerated in electrostatic field up to required energy (the injector as a whole is suspended at a positive potential that corresponds to required positron energy in the range of 4-10 keV). In injection pulse duration is about 300 nsec. The CPS has been tested at the low activity of isotope 22 Na tablet (100 MBq). The continuous positron beam with average energy of 1.2 eV and spectrum width of 1 eV has been obtained. The achieved moderation efficiency is about 1 %, that exceeds the level known from literature. The accumulation process in the positron trap was studied with electron flux. The life time of the electrons in the trap is 80 s and capture efficiency is about 0.4. The maximum number of the accumulated particles is