The fall of charged particles under gravity: A study of experimental problems

There are currently proposals to test the weak equivalence principle for antimatter by studying the motion of antiprotons, negative hydrogen ions, positrons, and electrons under gravity. The motions of such charged particles are affected by residual gas, radiation, and electric and magnetic fields, as well as gravity. The electric fields are particularly sensitive to the state of the "shielding" container. This paper reviews, and extends where necessary, the physics of these extraneous influences on the motion of charged particles under gravity. The effects considered include residual gas scattering; wall potentials due to patches, stress, thermal gradients, and contamination states; and image-charge-induced dissipation.