AEgIS Team’s CIRCUS System Revolutionizes Control in Complex Physics Experiments at CERN

CIRCUS, an autonomous control system developed by the AEgIS collaboration, is designed to manage and synchronize various devices in complex physics experiments, particularly at CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator and in atomic and quantum physics research. Based on Sinara, ARTIQ, and TALOS, the system integrates the ALPACA analysis pipeline and allows for autonomous parameter optimization through real-time data analysis. CIRCUS has been successfully deployed and tested within AEgIS and can be used by other experiments due to its open-source nature. The system’s development is crucial for maintaining modern complex physics experiments’ stability, reliability, and reproducibility.

What is CIRCUS and Why is it Important?

CIRCUS is an autonomous control system developed by the AEgIS collaboration, a team of researchers from various institutions. This system is designed to manage and synchronize many devices in complex physics experiments, particularly those conducted at CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator and in atomic and quantum physics research. The system is based on Sinara, ARTIQ, and TALOS and integrates the ALPACA analysis pipeline, all developed entirely within AEgIS.

CIRCUS is designed to meet strict synchronicity requirements and enable repeatable automated operation of experiments. It also allows for autonomous parameter optimization through feedback from real-time data analysis. The system has been successfully deployed and tested within AEgIS, and as it is experiment-agnostic and open-source, it can be leveraged by other experiments.

Developing a robust control system like CIRCUS is crucial for modern complex physics experiments. These experiments often require the management of a multitude of different devices and their precise time synchronization. Without a reliable control system, these experiments’ stability, reliability, and reproducibility could be compromised.

How Does CIRCUS Work in Physics Experiments?

In the context of physics experiments, control systems like CIRCUS are a combination of hardware and software that can modify the operation and configuration of other elements of a system. They are in charge of managing that system. Autonomous control systems like CIRCUS can operate with little to no human supervision. They are applied in any imaginable field, from satellites to dishwashers.

Control systems for nuclear, atomic, and quantum physics experiments are a special category because they need to deal with continuously upgraded, fixed, and reshaped systems. For this reason, they need to maintain stability, reliability, and reproducibility while allowing for the flexibility necessary for the experiment to mutate. The nature of these experiments puts a range of constraints on the control system, including nanosecond-precise execution, multiple computer synchronization, interfacing with different hardware using multiple interfaces, and easy extendability.

What Role Does CIRCUS Play in CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator Experiments?

The experiments at CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator (AD) complex, which investigates the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the universe, are examples of experiments that rely on control systems like CIRCUS. These experiments combine photonics, plasma, quantum, nuclear, and particle physics techniques. For example, to manipulate antimatter, it has to be isolated from ordinary matter to avoid destruction. Antiprotons are typically trapped in ultrahigh vacuum inside electromagnetic traps in the form of nonneutral plasmas, often sympathetically cooled and manipulated using electrons.

One of these experiments is AEgIS (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity Interferometry Spectroscopy), whose main aim is to measure the gravitational displacement of a horizontal pulsed antihydrogen beam using a moiré deflectometer. The experiment has developed a unique pulsed scheme which can provide precise knowledge of the antihydrogen formation time, control the final antihydrogen temperature, and manipulate its excitation state, among others.

How Does CIRCUS Contribute to the AEgIS Experiment?

In the AEgIS experiment, antihydrogen formation is based on the charge exchange reaction between Rydberg excited positronium (Ps) atoms and trapped cold antiprotons from the CERN decelerators. The AEgIS apparatus comprises two cylindrical cryostats containing superconducting magnets of 5T and a 1T respectively. A Penning-Malmberg trap in the 5T region is optimized for trapping and cooling antiprotons, while a second trap in the 1T region is used to form antihydrogen.

The axial confinement of charged particles is achieved by the more than 60 electrodes forming the two traps and to minimize the losses of trapped antiprotons, an ultrahigh vacuum of 10^-13 mbar or better is maintained. Additionally, manipulating the accumulated particle plasmas and antiatoms is done with a set of q-switched pulsed lasers relevant for the excitation of positronium to produce antihydrogen efficiently. The apparatus is equipped with a MicroChannel Plate (MCP) detector at the end of the two cryostats, a two-layer scintillator fiber tracker for detecting the annihilation, plastic scintillators, and an optical fiber bundle to monitor the light from the lasers.

The complexity of the apparatus gives the possibility to investigate different phenomena. For example, attempts to laser cool positronium atoms are currently ongoing using the experience of positronium generation and the recently upgraded laser system. In this context, CIRCUS plays a crucial role in managing and synchronizing the multitude of different devices involved in the experiment, ensuring its stability, reliability, and reproducibility.

What is the Future of CIRCUS and Similar Control Systems?

The development and successful deployment of CIRCUS represent a significant advancement in the field of autonomous control systems for complex physics experiments. As an open-source system, CIRCUS can be leveraged by other experiments, potentially leading to more efficient and reliable research in atomic and quantum physics.

However, the continuous evolution of physics experiments means that control systems like CIRCUS will need to keep up. They will need to maintain their stability, reliability, and reproducibility while allowing for the flexibility necessary for experiments to mutate. This will require ongoing development and refinement, as well as the integration of new technologies and methodologies.

In the future, we can expect to see more advanced and versatile control systems, capable of managing and synchronizing an even greater multitude of different devices. These systems will play a crucial role in pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the universe.