Numerical Solution of a Two-Particle Model of Positronium Confined in Small Cavities

G. Tanzi Marlotti a, F. Castellia,b and G. Consolatic,b aDepartment of Physics, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 16 I-20133 Milano, Italy bINFN, sezione di Milano, via Celoria 16 I-20133 Milano, Italy cDepartment of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, via LaMasa 34, I-20156 Milano, Italy

Full Text PDF

The positronium atom (Ps) is widely used as a probe to characterize nanoporous and mesoporous materials. Existing theoretical models for describing Ps annihilation rates by pick-off processes generally treat Ps as a point particle confined in a potential well. Hence these models do not justify any change in the internal structure of Ps, which is experimentally accessible by means of the contact density parameter. Recently we formulated a two-particle model in which only the electron is confined in the cavity, while the positron is moving freely and feels the medium via a positive work function. We present here a numerical treatment of the problem of calculating contact densities and pick-off annihilation rates, by using a variational method. Results are in agreement with experimental data for a large class of materials, and suggest a way to connect these data with pore sizes and positron work functions.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.132.1575 PACS numbers: 36.10.Dr, 34.80.Lx, 78.70.Bj