Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy Insight on Free Volume Conversion of Nanostructured MgAl2O4 Ceramics

Herein we demonstrate the specifics of using the positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) method for the study of free volume changes in functional ceramic materials. Choosing technological modification of nanostructured MgAl2O4 spinel as an example, we show that for ceramics with well-developed porosity positron annihilation is revealed through two channels: positron trapping channel and ortho-positronium decay. Positron trapping in free-volume defects is described by the second component of spectra and ortho-positronium decay process by single or multiple components, depending on how well porosity is developed and on the experimental configuration. When using proposed positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy approaches, three components are the most suitable fit in the case of MgAl2O4 ceramics. In the analysis of the second component, it is shown that technological modification (increasing sintering temperature) leads to volume shrinking and decreases the number of defect-related voids. This process is also accompanied by the decrease of the size of nanopores (described by the third component), while the overall number of nanopores is not affected. The approach to the analysis of positron annihilation lifetime spectra presented here can be applied to a wide range of functional nanomaterials with pronounced porosity.

Searches for discrete symmetries violation in ortho-positronium decay using the J-PET detector

In this paper, we present prospects for using the Jagiellonian positron emission tomograph (J-PET) detector to search for discrete symmetries violations in a purely leptonic system of the positronium atom. We discuss tests of CP and CPT symmetries by means of ortho-positronium decays into three photons. No zero expectation values for chosen correlations between ortho-positronium spin and momentum vectors of photons would imply the existence of physics phenomena beyond the standard model. Previous measurements resulted in violation amplitude parameters for CP and CPT symmetries consistent with zero, with an uncertainty of about 10−3. The J-PET detector allows to determine those values with better precision, thanks to the unique time and angular resolution combined with a high geometrical acceptance. Achieving the aforementioned is possible because of the application of polymer scintillators instead of crystals as detectors of annihilation quanta.