210 research outputs found
Experimental study of ultracold neutron production in pressurized superfluid helium
We have investigated experimentally the pressure dependence of the production
of ultracold neutrons (UCN) in superfluid helium in the range from saturated
vapor pressure to 20bar. A neutron velocity selector allowed the separation of
underlying single-phonon and multiphonon pro- cesses by varying the incident
cold neutron (CN) wavelength in the range from 3.5 to 10{\AA}. The predicted
pressure dependence of UCN production derived from inelastic neutron scattering
data was confirmed for the single-phonon excitation. For multiphonon based UCN
production we found no significant dependence on pressure whereas calculations
from inelastic neutron scattering data predict an increase of 43(6)% at 20bar
relative to saturated vapor pressure. From our data we conclude that applying
pressure to superfluid helium does not increase the overall UCN production rate
at a typical CN guide.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures Version accepted for publication in PR
Results from the Project 8 phase-1 cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy detector
The Project 8 collaboration seeks to measure the absolute neutrino mass scale
by means of precision spectroscopy of the beta decay of tritium. Our technique,
cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy, measures the frequency of the
radiation emitted by electrons produced by decays in an ambient magnetic field.
Because the cyclotron frequency is inversely proportional to the electron's
Lorentz factor, this is also a measurement of the electron's energy. In order
to demonstrate the viability of this technique, we have assembled and
successfully operated a prototype system, which uses a rectangular waveguide to
collect the cyclotron radiation from internal conversion electrons emitted from
a gaseous Kr source. Here we present the main design aspects of the
first phase prototype, which was operated during parts of 2014 and 2015. We
will also discuss the procedures used to analyze these data, along with the
features which have been observed and the performance achieved to date.Comment: 3 pages; 2 figures; Proceedings of Neutrino 2016, XXVII International
Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, 4-9 July 2016, London, U
Project 8 Phase III Design Concept
We present a working concept for Phase III of the Project 8 experiment,
aiming to achieve a neutrino mass sensitivity of ( C.L.)
using a large volume of molecular tritium and a phased antenna array. The
detection system is discussed in detail.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of Neutrino 2016, XXVII International
Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, 4-9 July 2016, London, U
SPECT: A spin-flip loaded magnetic ultracold neutron trap for a determination of the neutron lifetime
The confinement of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) in a three dimensional magnetic
field gradient trap allows for a measurement of the free neutron lifetime with
superior control over spurious loss channels and can provide a large kinetic
energy acceptance to enhance statistical sensitivity. In this paper, we present
the first successful implementation of a pulsed spin-flip based loading scheme
for a three-dimensional magnetic UCN trap. The measurements with the
SPECT experiment were performed at the pulsed UCN source of the research
reactor TRIGA Mainz. We report on detailed investigations of major systematic
effects influencing the neutron storage time, statistically limited by the size
of the recorded data set. The extracted neutron storage time constant of is compatible with, but not to be interpreted as, a
measurement of the free neutron lifetime.Comment: 15 pages, 19 figure
An Improved Search for the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment
A permanent electric dipole moment of fundamental spin-1/2 particles violates
both parity (P) and time re- versal (T) symmetry, and hence, also charge-parity
(CP) symmetry since there is no sign of CPT-violation. The search for a neutron
electric dipole moment (nEDM) probes CP violation within and beyond the Stan-
dard Model. The experiment, set up at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), an
improved, upgraded version of the apparatus which provided the current best
experimental limit, dn < 2.9E-26 ecm (90% C.L.), by the RAL/Sussex/ILL
collaboration: Baker et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 131801 (2006). In the next
two years we aim to improve the sensitivity of the apparatus to sigma(dn) =
2.6E-27 ecm corresponding to an upper limit of dn < 5E-27 ecm (95% C.L.), in
case for a null result. In parallel the collaboration works on the design of a
new apparatus to further increase the sensitivity to sigma(dn) = 2.6E-28 ecm.Comment: APS Division for particles and fields, Conference Proceedings, Two
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Testing isotropy of the universe using the Ramsey resonance technique on ultracold neutron spins
Physics at the Planck scale could be revealed by looking for tiny violations
of fundamental symmetries in low energy experiments. In 2008, a sensitive test
of the isotropy of the Universe using has been performed with stored ultracold
neutrons (UCN), this is the first clock-comparison experiment performed with
free neutrons. During several days we monitored the Larmor frequency of neutron
spins in a weak magnetic field using the Ramsey resonance technique. An
non-zero cosmic axial field, violating rotational symmetry, would induce a
daily variation of the precession frequency. Our null result constitutes one of
the most stringent tests of Lorentz invariance to date.Comment: proceedings of the PNCMI2010 conferenc
Gravitational depolarization of ultracold neutrons: comparison with data
We compare the expected effects of so-called gravitationally enhanced depolarization of ultracold neutrons to measurements carried out in a spin-precession chamber exposed to a variety of vertical magnetic-field gradients. In particular, we have investigated the dependence upon these field gradients of spin-depolarization rates and also of shifts in the measured neutron Larmor precession frequency. We find excellent qualitative agreement, with gravitationally enhanced depolarization accounting for several previously unexplained features in the data
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