Combining electron beam, high-res spectrometers
“This measurement could only be carried out thanks to the unique combination of the excellent quality of the MAMI electron beam and the three high-resolution spectrometers of the A1 Collaboration,” noted Professor Josef Pochodzalla from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU).
The experiment also overcame significant technical hurdles, including the use of an unusual, elongated lithium target (45 mm long, 0.75 mm thick) positioned along the beam axis to maximize interaction probability, and the careful handling of the highly reactive and fragile lithium material.
Despite the rarity of the process, yielding roughly one ⁶H event per day over a four-week measurement period, the high precision and low background noise of the experiment provided a clear signal and confirmed the isotope’s production and its unexpectedly low energy state.