Methods for measuring novel plasma physics of trapped antimatter

Recent developments in the theory ion-electron temperature relaxation rates in strongly magnetized plasmas [1] show that nonneutral plasmas in antimatter experiments may exhibit novel features due to their strong magnetization and Coulomb coupling strength. These features include a strong discrepancy between parallel and perpendicular collision rates, and collision rates that differ between like-charge collisions and unlike-charge collisions (the Barkas effect). Here, we present methods for measuring these effects that are consistent with the hardware capabilities of the ALPHA experiment at CERN.

[1] L. Jose, S. Baalrud, Phys. Plasmas 30, 052103 (2023); doi: 10.1063/5.0146417