Peter Walstrom

Measurement of the neutron lifetime using a magneto-gravitational trap and in situ detection

How long does a neutron live? Unlike the proton, whose lifetime is longer than the age of the universe, a free neutron decays with a lifetime of about 15 minutes. Measuring the exact lifetime of neutrons is surprisingly tricky; putting them in a container and monitoring their decay can lead to errors because some neutrons will be lost owing to interactions with the container walls. To overcome this problem, Pattie et al. measured the lifetime in a trap where ultracold polarized neutrons were levitated by magnetic fields, precluding interactions with the trap walls (see the Perspective by Mumm). This more precise determination of the neutron lifetime will aid our understanding of how the first nuclei formed after the Big Bang. Science, this issue p. 627; see also p. 605 Ultracold polarized neutrons are levitated in a trap to measure their lifetime with reduced systematic uncertainty. The precise value of the mean neutron lifetime, τn, plays an important role in nuclear and particle physics and cosmology. It is used to predict the ratio of protons to helium atoms in the primordial universe and to search for physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. We eliminated 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. As a result of this approach and the use of an in situ neutron detector, the lifetime reported here [877.7 ± 0.7 (stat) +0.4/–0.2 (sys) seconds] does not require corrections larger than the quoted uncertainties.

A proposed measurement of the ß asymmetry in neutron decay with the Los Alamos Ultra-Cold Neutron Source

This article reviews the status of an experiment to study the neutron spin-electron angular correlation with the Los Alamos Ultra-Cold Neutron (UCN) source. The experiment will generate UCNs from a novel solid deuterium, spallation source, and polarize them in a solenoid magnetic field. The experiment spectrometer will consist of a neutron decay region in a solenoid magnetic field combined with several different detector possibilities. An electron beam and a magnetic spectrometer will provide a precise, absolute calibration for these detectors. An A-correlation measurement with a relative precision of 0.2% is expected by the end of 2002.

Dipole-sheet multipole magnets for accelerators

The dipole-sheet formalism can be used to describe both cylindrical current-sheet multipole magnets and cylindrical-bore magnets made up of permanent magnet blocks. For current sheets, the formalism provides a natural way of finding a finite set of turns that approximate a continuous distribution. The formalism is especially useful in accelerator applications where large-bore, short, high-field-quality magnets that are dominated by fringe fields are needed. A further advantage of the approach is that in systems with either open or cylindrically symmetric magnetic boundaries, analytical expressions for the three-dimensional fields that are suitable for rapid numerical evaluation can be derived. This development is described in some detail. Also, recent developments in higher-order particle-beam optics codes based on the formalism are described briefly. >

Magnetic design of large-bore superconducting quadrupoles for the AHF

The Advanced Hydrotest Facility (AHF), under study by LANL, utilizes large-bore superconducting quadrupole magnets to image protons for radiography of fast events. The lens system uses two types of quadrupoles: a large bore (48-cm beam aperture) for wide field of view imaging and a smaller bore (23 cm aperture) for higher resolution images. The gradients of the magnets are 10.14 T/m and 18.58 T/m with magnetic lengths of 4.3 m and 3.0 m, respectively. The magnets are sufficiently novel to present a design challenge. Evaluation and comparisons were made for various types of magnet design: shell and racetrack coils, cold and warm iron, as well as an active superconducting shield. Nb/sub 3/Sn cable was considered as an alternative to NbTi to avoid quenching under high beam-scattering conditions. Several options are discussed and compared.

Demonstration of transmission high energy electron microscopy

High energy electrons have been used to investigate an extension of transmission electron microscopy. This technique, transmission high energy electron microscopy (THEEM), provides two additional capabilities to electron microscopy. First, high energy electrons are more penetrating than low energy electrons, and thus, they are able to image through thicker samples. Second, the accelerating mode of a radio-frequency linear accelerator provides fast exposures, down to 1 ps, which are ideal for flash radiography, making THEEM well suited to study the evolution of fast material processes under dynamic conditions. Initial investigations with static objects and during material processing have been performed to investigate the capabilities of this technique.High energy electrons have been used to investigate an extension of transmission electron microscopy. This technique, transmission high energy electron microscopy (THEEM), provides two additional capabilities to electron microscopy. First, high energy electrons are more penetrating than low energy electrons, and thus, they are able to image through thicker samples. Second, the accelerating mode of a radio-frequency linear accelerator provides fast exposures, down to 1 ps, which are ideal for flash radiography, making THEEM well suited to study the evolution of fast material processes under dynamic conditions. Initial investigations with static objects and during material processing have been performed to investigate the capabilities of this technique.

UCNtau: Study of Lifetime Measurement in a Magneto-Gravitational Trap

The UCNtau project is intended to develop a new measurement of the neutron lifetime using ultra-cold neutrons (UCNs) stored in a magneto-gravitational trap. In this article, we will describe the development of the experiment so far, including the trap itself, the UCN transport and monitoring system, the neutron detection methods, and the Monte Carlo simulations that have been used to model these elements. Finally, we will describe the first systematic effects that we plan to study using this apparatus.

Charged particle energy loss radiography for homeland security applications

We discuss an innovative low-dose approach for detecting shielded strategic nuclear materials (SNM) based on measuring the energy-loss of energetic protons penetrating an object.