Senior Thesis

Monte Carlo Simulation of an Atomic Interferometer

Ethan Neil

April 12, 2005

Thesis Committee: Thomas Phillips, Mark Kruse, Ronen Plesser, Calvin Howell  (exofficio non-voting member)

ABSTRACT:  A direct measurement of the gravitational acceleration of antimatter has never before been performed. Recently, such an experiment has been proposed, using antihydrogen with an atom interferometer.  This thesis describes a computer model of the proposed experiment, which is used to test basic assumptions and optimize certain parameters.  A Monte Carlo routine for generation of trial data sets is also demonstrated.     

Here is the thesis in PDF: eneil_thesis.pdf (about 1.66 MBytes)