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Register a new userMeasurement of the neutron lifetime using an asymmetric magneto- gravitational trap and in situ detection
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The precise value of the mean neutron lifetime, $tau_n$, plays an important role in nuclear and particle physics and cosmology. It is a key input for predicting the ratio of protons to helium atoms in the primordial universe and is used to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. There is a 3.9 standard deviation discrepancy between $tau_n$ measured by counting the decay rate of free neutrons in a beam (887.7 $pm$ 2.2 s) and by counting surviving ultracold neutrons stored for different storage times in a material trap (878.5$pm$0.8 s). The experiment described here eliminates loss mechanisms present in previous trap experiments by levitating polarized ultracold neutrons above the surface of an asymmetric storage trap using a repulsive magnetic field gradient so that the stored neutrons do not interact with material trap walls and neutrons in quasi-stable orbits rapidly exit the trap. As a result of this approach and the use of a new in situ neutron detector, the lifetime reported here (877.7 $pm$ 0.7 (stat) +0.4/-0.2 (sys) s) is the first modern measurement of $tau_n$ that does not require corrections larger than the quoted uncertainties.
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We report an improved measurement of the free neutron lifetime $tau_{n}$ using the UCN$tau$ apparatus at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. We counted a total of approximately $38times10^{6}$ surviving ultracold neutrons (UCN) after storing in UCN$tau$s magneto-gravitational trap over two data acquisition campaigns in 2017 and 2018. We extract $tau_{n}$ from three blinded, independent analyses by both pairing long and short storage-time runs to find a set of replicate $tau_{n}$ measurements and by performing a global likelihood fit to all data while self-consistently incorporating the $beta$-decay lifetime. Both techniques achieve consistent results and find a value $tau_{n}=877.75pm0.28_{text{ stat}}+0.22/-0.16_{text{ syst}}$~s. With this sensitivity, neutron lifetime experiments now directly address the impact of recent refinements in our understanding of the standard model for neutron decay.
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.
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.
We use data from the Lunar Prospector Neutron Spectrometer to make the second space-based measurement of the free neutron lifetime finding $tau_n=887 pm 14_text{stat}{:^{+7}_{-3:text{syst}}}$ s, which is within 1$sigma$ of the accepted value. This measurement expands the range of planetary bodies where the neutron lifetime has been quantified from space, and by extending the modeling to account for non-uniform elemental composition, we mitigated a significant source of systematic uncertainty on the previous space-based lifetime measurement. This modeling moves space-based neutron lifetime measurement towards the ultimate goal of reducing the magnitude of the systematics on a future space-measurement to the level of those seen in laboratory-based experiments.
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