The design and construction of a recoil detector for the measurement of recoil protons of antiproton-proton elastic scattering at scattering angles close to 90$^{circ}$ are described. The performance of the recoil detector has been tested in the labo
ratory with radioactive sources and at COSY with proton beams by measuring proton-proton elastic scattering. The results of laboratory tests and commissioning with beam are presented. Excellent energy resolution and proper working performance of the recoil detector validate the conceptual design of the KOALA experiment at HESR to provide the cross section data needed to achieve a precise luminosity determination at the PANDA experiment.
We propose to use an internal polarized hydrogen storage cell gas target in the AD ring to determine for the first time the two total spin-dependent pbar-p cross sections sigma_1 and sigma_2 at antiproton beam energies in the range from 50 to 450 MeV
. The data obtained are of interest by themselves for the general theory of pbar-p interactions since they will provide a first experimental constraint of the spin-spin dependence of the nucleon-antinucleon potential in the energy range of interest. In addition, measurements of the polarization buildup of stored antiprotons are required to define the optimum parameters of a future, dedicated Antiproton Polarizer Ring (APR), intended to feed a double-polarized asymmetric pbar-p collider with polarized antiprotons. Such a machine has recently been proposed by the PAX collaboration for the new Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany. The availability of an intense stored beam of polarized antiprotons will provide access to a wealth of single- and double-spin observables, thereby opening a new window on QCD spin physics.
