Research activities

Fundamental Physics with antimatter

  • Atomic physics with positronium (Ps), the bound state of a positron and an electron.
  • Study of gravity acting on antihydrogen, positronium and protonium. 
  • Positronium laser spectroscopy and positronium laser cooling.
  • Production of positron/positronium converters
  • Development of laser for positronium manipulation in selected quantum states.
  • Development of positron bunched beams.
  • Development of a beam of metastable positronium (long lived positronium) 
  • Study and development of position sensing detectors for charge particle and gamma rays with energy up to 511 keV.
  • Study for the production of polarized positronium into vacuum.
  • Study of the entanglement of gamma photons

Solid state Physics with antimatter

  • Study and characterization of porosity, through detection of positronium formation (3 gammas PAS, Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy; PALS: Positron annihilation lifetime spectrosopy), in polymeric and biopolymer nanocomposite thin films for the realization of low permeability molecular and dielectric sieves.
  • Characterization of the chemical surrounding of porosity, cavities and point defects by the CDBS (Coincidence Doppler Broadening Spectroscopy) technique.
  • Depth profiling of vacancy like defects in oxide by DBS (Doppler Broadening Spectroscopy) and PALS.

Technology transfer

  • Development of parabolic solar concentrators for alternative energy

Ongoing projects and collaborations

INFN-TIFPA - CERN: Production of a beam of Antihydrogen for studies of matter-antimatter gravity interaction. AEgIS (Antimatter Experiment gravity Interferometry Spectroscopy) based at the European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN. https://aegis.web.cern.ch/aegis/

CERN and Jagiellonian University in Cracow (Polland): Production of metastable positronium beam for interferometry and gravity studies. Development of: particle bunching systems, laser for positronium manipulation, position sensing detector, and a detector for high intensity gamma rays.

University of Vienna (Austria) and the Jagiellonian University in Cracow (Polland): Project in the field of quantum technologies: study of entanglement of gamma photons.

Q@TN: a joint initiative of University of Trento, Bruno Kessler Foundation, and National Research Council within the framework of Quantum Technologies Flagship aimed at coordinating their on-going activities and to start new ones in the areas of fundamental quantum science, quantum communications, quantum computing, quantum simulations, future sensors and metrology 

Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Reactor (FRM II) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Bundeswehr University Munich. Study and characterization of porosity, cavities and point defects.

Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Study of oxydes.

Nicolaus Copernicus University of Torun (Polland). Positron atomic physics.

Parabolic solar concentrators for alternative energy: in collaboration with DICAM and FBK.

Group members