Observation of channeling and volume reflection in bent crystals for high-energy negative particles

Deflection due to planar channeling and volume reflection in short bent silicon crystals was observed for the first time for 150 GeV/c negative particles, π− mesons, at one of the secondary beams of the CERN SPS. The deflection efficiency was about 30% for channeling and higher than 80% for volume reflection. Volume reflection occurs, in spite of the attractive character of the forces acting between the particles and the crystal planes, in a wide angular range of the crystal orientations determined by the crystal bend angle.