Annihilation of Antiprotons in Light Nuclei

CR-39 detectors have been exposed to a 5.9-MeV antiproton beam using the low energy antiproton ring (LEAR) facility at CERN. At this energy, tracks of antiprotons appear in a CR-39 detector after 135min of etching in 6M NaOH at 70°C. Fluence of the antiproton beam has been determined using track density. We have also found tracks in the etched CR-39 detector at different depths (250--500μm). These tracks have resulted from the annihilation of antiprotons with the constituents (H, C and O) of the CR-39 detector. The goal of the experiment is to develop a simple and low-cost method to study properties of antiparticles and those formed after annihilation of these particles with the target matter.