Positron Physics

This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the field of low energy positrons and positronium within atomic and molecular physics. Each chapter contains a blend of theory and experiment, giving a balanced treatment of all the topics. Useful for graduate students and researchers in physics and chemistry.

In condensed matter initially fast positrons annihilate after having reached equi librium with the surroundings. The interaction of positrons with matter is governed by the laws of ordinary quantum mechanics. Field theory and antiparticle properties enter only in the annihilation process leading to the emergence of energetic photons. The monitoring of annihilation radiation by nuclear spectroscopic methods provides valuable information on the electron-positron system which can directly be related to the electronic structure of the medium. Since the positron is a positive electron its behavior in matter is especially interesting to solid-state and atomic physi cists. The small mass quarantees that the positron is really a quantum mechanical particle and completely different from any other particles and atoms. Positron physics started about 25 years ago but discoveries of new features in its interac tion with matter have maintained continuous interest and increasing activity in the field. Nowadays it is becoming part of the "stock-in-trade" of experimental physics.

With the termination of the physics program at PETRA, and with the start of TRISTAN and the SLC and later LEP, an era of e+e- physics has come to an end and a new one begins. The field is changing from a field of few specialists, to becoming one of the mainstream efforts of the high energy community. It seems appropriate at this moment to summarize what has been learned over the past years, in a way most useful to any high energy physicists, in particular to newcomers in the e+e- field. This is the purpose of the book. This book should be used as a reference for future workers in the field of e+e- interactions. It includes the most relevant data, parametrizations, theoretical background, and a chapter on detectors.

The lifetime of a positron inside a solid is normally less than a fraction of nanosecond. This is a very short time on a human scale, but is long enough to enable the positron to visit an extended region of the material, and to sense the atomic and electronic structure of the environment. Thus, we can inject a positron in a sample to draw from it some signal giving us information on the microscopic properties of the material. This idea has been successfully developed in a number of positron-based techniques of physical analysis, with resolution in energy, momentum, or position. The complex of these techniques is what we call now positron spectroscopy of solids. The field of application of the positron spectroscopy extends from advanced problems of solid-state physics to industrial applications in the area of characterization of high-tech materials. This volume focuses the attention on the physics that can be learned from positron-based methods, but also frames those methods in a wider context including other experimental approaches. It can be considered as a textbook on positron spectroscopy of solids, the sort of book that the newcomer takes for his approach to this field, but also as a useful research tool for the expert.

The NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Atomic Physics with Positrons, which was held at University College London during 15-18 July 1987, was the fourth meeting in a series devoted to the general theme of positron colli sions in gases. Previous meetings have been held at York University, Toronto (1981); Royal Holloway College, Egham (1983) and Wayne State Uni versity, Detroit (1985). Recent very significant improvements in positron beam currents, due to the development of more efficient moderators and the use of more intense positron sources, are making possible an increasingly sophisticated range of experiments in atomic collision physics. Whereas a few years ago only total scattering cross sections could be determined, measurements can now be made of various partial and differential cross sections. Intense positron beams are also being used to produce positronium beams and already, as reported here, preliminary investigations have been made of collisions of positronium with several target systems. These experimental developments have stimulated, and been stimulated by, steady, if somewhat less spectacu1ar,progress in associated theoretical studies. Both aspects of the field are well represented in these Proceed ings.

This book provides a coherent and comprehensive overview of the generation and application of mono-energetic positron beams. It has been written by acknowledged experts, at a level accessible to graduate students working, or planning to work, with positron beams, and to scientists in other areas who want to know something about the field. The book begins with a brief historical introduction and an overview of how positron beams are generated and transported. A description of the fate of slow positrons in gaseous and condensed matter, with reference to many of the fundamental measurements made possible by the advent of positron beams, is followed by a discussion on applications in the study of solid surfaces, defect profiling in subsurface regions, interfaces and thin films, and the probing of bulk properties in novel ways. The book ends with a look at the future, considering the prospects for intense positron beams and their potential for further research. Contents:Introduction: A Brief History of Positron Beams (P G Coleman)The Generation and Transport of Positron Beams (P G Coleman)Atomic and Molecular Physics with Positrons and Positronium (G Laricchia & M Charlton)The Fate of Slow Positrons in Condensed Matter (R M Nieminen)Surface Science with Positrons (A H Weiss & P G Coleman)Depth-Profiling of Subsurface Regions, Interfaces and Thin Films (A Van Veen et al.)Positron Microscopes and Microprobes (P G Coleman)MeV Positron Beams (H Stoll)Spin–Polarized Positron Beams in Condensed–Matter Studies (J Major)The Future: Intense Beams (R H Howell) Readership: Graduate students and scientists interested in working with positron beams. Keywords:Positrons;Positronium;Scattering;Diffusion;Surfaces;Annihilation;Defects;Microscopy;Polarization

The only critical discussion available on the chemistry of the two "strange" light particles, the positron and positronium, with much space devoted to the excess electron. Positron annihilation allows the investigation of many unusual phenomena in the reaction kinetics of the positron, positronium, and excess electron, and in radiation chemistry and physics, while also providing important information on defects in solids.

Computational Atomic Physics deals with computational methods for calculating electron (and positron) scattering from atoms and ions, including elastic scattering, excitation, and ionization processes. Each chapter is divided into abstract, theory, computer program with sample input and output, summary, suggested problems, and references. An MS-DOS diskette is included, which holds 11 programs covering the features of each chapter and therefore contributing to a deeper understanding of the field. Thus the book provides a unique practical application of advanced quantum mechanics.