Speaker
Description
The antiProton Unstable Matter Annihilation (PUMA) experiment at CERN studies the distribution of protons and neutrons in the nuclear density tail using low-energy antiprotons. By studying stable and short-lived nuclei, PUMA investigates surface phenomena such as nuclear halos and neutron skins. The experiment leverages the sensitivity of antiprotons to both neutrons and protons, with the neutron-to-proton annihilation ratio serving as the key observable. The antiproton-nucleon annihilation process conserves the electrical charge. PUMA uses this feature to disentangle the
annihilation on neutrons and protons by measuring the charges of pions emitted from the annihilation with a time projection chamber located in a 4T magnetic field.
This contribution provides an overview of the PUMA experiment, covering its operation principle and the current status of the different components of the project. Particular attention is given to recent developments in the PUMA time projection chamber.
