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Register a new userDetermination of the Free Neutron Lifetime
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We present the status of current US experimental efforts to measure the lifetime of the free neutron by the beam and bottle methods. BBN nucleosynthesis models require accurate measurements with 1 second uncertainties, which are currently feasible. For tests of physics beyond the standard model, future efforts will need to achieve uncertainties well below 1 second. We outline paths achieve both.
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The results of measurements performed using UCN storing method are in good agreement. The latest most accurate measurements of the neutron decay asymmetry and neutron lifetime measurements by storage method are in agreement within the Standard Model. However, there is a significant discrepancy at $3.6sigma$ (1% of decay probability) level with beam method experiment. This article discusses the possible causes of discrepancy in the measurements of the neutron lifetime with beam method experiment. The most probable cause, apparently, is the loss of protons in beam method experiment during storage in a magnetic trap due to charge exchange collisions of protons with the residual gas. The proton becomes neutral and leaves the trap, which leads to a decrease in the number of registered protons, i.e. to a decrease in the probability of neutron decay or to an increase in the measured neutron lifetime.
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.
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.
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 puzzle remains in the large discrepancy between neutron lifetime measured by the two distinct experimental approaches -- counts of beta decays in a neutron beam and storage of ultracold neutrons in a potential trap, namely, the beam method versus the bottle method. In this paper, we propose a new experiment to measure the neutron lifetime in a cold neutron beam with a sensitivity goal of 0.1% or sub-1 second. The neutron beta decays will be counted in a superfluid helium-4 scintillation detector at 0.5 K, and the neutron flux will be simultaneously monitored by the helium-3 captures in the same volume. The cold neutron beam must be of wavelength $lambda>16.5$ A to eliminate scattering with superfluid helium. A new precise measurement of neutron lifetime with the beam method of unique inherent systematic effects will greatly advance in resolving the puzzle.
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