UA3 experiment

Super Proton–Antiproton Synchrotron
(SppS)

Key SppS Experiments
UA1	Underground Area 1
UA2	Underground Area 2
UA4	Underground Area 4
UA5	Underground Area 5
SppS pre-accelerators
PS	Proton Synchrotron
AA	Antiproton Accumulator

The Underground Area 3 (UA3) experiment was a high-energy physics experiment at the Proton-Antiproton Collider (SppS), a modification of the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), at CERN. The experiment ran from 1978 to 1988 with the objective of searching for magnetic monopoles. ^[1] No evidence for magnetic monopoles was found by the UA3 experiment. ^[2]

UA3 detector in vacuum chamber

The experiment shares the same intersection region used as the UA1 colliding experiment, and looked for expected high ionisation of magnetic monopole in plastic detectors. ^[3] The beam pipe was a stainless steel corrugated cylinder, with 0.2 mm thickness. ^[4]

Plastic detectors were used as they are best suited to the chemically etched tracks left by the ionising particles, and they resist high temperatures during baking. ^{[5] [4]} The plastic detectors used were 125μm thick kapton foils. The foils were placed inside of the vacuum chamber and around the central track detector for the UA1. ^[6] Three cylindrical and four transverse layers of detectors were placed between three chambers: two forward chambers and a central chamber. This covered the maximum solid angle possible. ^[5]

Holes etched along a monopole track were determined using diffusion of a gas or dye through the holes, followed by a chemical reaction. The ionisation rates of magnetic monopoles were predicted to be very high due to their short range. ^[5]

See also

• List of Super Proton Synchrotron experiments
• UA1 experiment

External links

• CERN's Greybook for the UA3 experiment

References

1. "Greybook". greybook.cern.ch. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
2. Dowell, John D (1985). "Proton antiproton physics". CERN. doi:10.5170/CERN-1985-011.1.
3. Price, Michael J. (1984), Stone, James L. (ed.), "Experimental Searches for Magnetic Monopoles at Particle Colliders" , Monopole ’83, NATO ASI Series, vol. 111, Boston, MA: Springer US, pp. 621–624, doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-0375-7_61, ISBN   978-1-4757-0375-7 , retrieved 2023-08-03
4. Aubert, B.; Musset, P.; Price, M.; Vialle, J.P. (12 Oct 1982). "Search for magnetic monopoles in proton-antiproton interactions at 540 GeV cm energy". Physics Letters B. 120 (4–6): 465–467. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(83)90488-4.
5. Aubert, B; Musset, P; Price, M; Vialle, J P (2 Feb 1978). "Search for Magnetic Monopoles" (PDF). Proposal to the SPSC.
6. Dowell, J D (1983). "Physics Results from the CERN Proton-Antiproton Collider" (PDF). Department of Physics, University of Birmingham, England.