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Register a new userNeutron lifetime measurements and effective spectral cleaning with an ultracold neutron trap using a vertical Halbach octupole permanent magnet array
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Ultracold neutron (UCN) storage measurements were made in a trap constructed from a 1.3 T Halbach Octupole PErmanent (HOPE) magnet array aligned vertically, using the TES-port of the PF2 source at the Institut Laue-Langevin. A mechanical UCN valve at the bottom of the trap was used for filling and emptying. This valve was covered with Fomblin grease to induce non-specular reflections and was used in combination with a movable polyethylene UCN remover inserted from the top for cleaning of above-threshold UCNs. Loss due to UCN depolarization was suppressed with a minimum 2 mT bias field. Without using the UCN remover, a total storage time constant of $(712 pm 19)$ s was observed; with the remover inserted for 80 s and used at either 80 cm or 65 cm from the bottom of the trap, time constants of $(824 pm 32)$ s and $(835 pm 36)$ s were observed. Combining the latter two values, a neutron lifetime of $tau_{rm n} = (887 pm 39)$ s is extracted after primarily correcting for losses at the UCN valve. The time constants of the UCN population during cleaning were observed and compared to calculations based on UCN kinetic theory as well as Monte-Carlo studies. These calculations are used to predict above-threshold populations of $sim 5%$, $sim 0.5%$ and $sim 10^{-12}%$ remaining after cleaning in the no remover, 80~cm remover and 65~cm remover measurements. Thus, by using a non-specular reflector covering the entire bottom of the trap and a remover at the top of the trap, we have established an effective cleaning procedure for removing a major systematic effect in high-precision $tau_{rm n}$ experiments with magnetically stored UCNs.
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Neutron lifetime is one of the most important physical constants which determines parameters of the weak interaction and predictions of primordial nucleosynthesis theory. There remains the unsolved problem of a 3.9{sigma} discrepancy between measurements of this lifetime using neutrons in beams and those with stored neutrons (UCN). In our experiment we measure the lifetime of neutrons trapped by Earths gravity in an open-topped vessel. Two configurations of the trap geometry are used to change the mean frequency of UCN collisions with the surfaces - this is achieved by plunging an additional surface into the trap without breaking the vacuum. The trap walls are coated with a hydrogen-less fluorine-containing polymer to reduce losses of UCN. The stability of this coating to multiple thermal cycles between 80 K and 300 K was tested. At 80 K, the probability of UCN loss due to collisions with the trap walls is just 1.5% of the probability of beta-decay. The free neutron lifetime is determined by extrapolation to an infinitely large trap with zero collision frequency. The result of these measurements is 881.5 +/- 0.7_stat +/- 0.6_syst s which is consistent with the conventional value of 880.2 +/- 1.0 s presented by the Particle Data Group. Future prospects for this experiment are in further cooling to 10 K which will lead to an improved accuracy of measurement. In conclusion we present an analysis of currently-available data on various measurements of the neutron lifetime.
The current knowledge of the neutron $beta$-decay lifetime has come under scrutiny as of late due to large disagreements between recent precise measurements. Measurements using magnetically trapped Ultra-Cold Neutrons (UCNs) offer the possibility of storage without spurious losses which can provide a reliable value for the neutron lifetime. The progress towards realizing a neutron lifetime measurement using a Ioffe-type trap made with a Halbach-type permanent octupole magnet is presented here. The experimental procedure extracts a gas of UCNs into vacuum, which reduces many known channels of neutron losses, and detects the neutron decays via in-situ detection of the produced protons.
The neutron lifetime is important in understanding the production of light nuclei in the first minutes after the big bang and it provides basic information on the charged weak current of the standard model of particle physics. Two different methods have been used to measure the neutron lifetime: disappearance measurements using bottled ultracold neutrons and decay rate measurements using neutron beams. The best measurements using these two techniques give results that differ by nearly 4 standard deviations. In this paper we describe a new method for measuring surviving neutrons in neutron lifetime measurements using bottled ultracold neutrons that provides better characterization of systematic uncertainties and enables higher precision than previous measurement techniques. We present results obtained using our method.
Our experiment using gravitationally trapped ultracold neutrons (UCN) to measure the neutron lifetime is reviewed. Ultracold neutrons were trapped in a material bottle covered with perfluoropolyether. The neutron lifetime was deduced from comparison of UCN losses in the traps with different surface-to-volume ratios. The precise value of the neutron lifetime is of fundamental importance to particle physics and cosmology. In this experiment, the UCN storage time is brought closer to the neutron lifetime than in any experiments before:the probability of UCN losses from the trap was only 1% of that for neutron beta decay. The neutron lifetime obtained,878.5+/-0.7stat+/-0.3sys s, is the most accurate experimental measurement to date.
The neutron lifetime is one of the basic parameters in the weak interaction, and is used for predicting the light element abundance in the early universe. Our group developed a new setup to measure the lifetime with the goal precision of 0.1% at the polarized beam branch BL05 of MLF, J-PARC. The commissioning data was acquired in 2014 and 2015, and the first set of data to evaluate the lifetime in 2016, which is expected to yield a statistical uncertainty of O(1)%. This paper presents the current analysis results and the future plans to achieve our goal precision.
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