Yuri Sobolev

Constraints on spin-dependent short-range interaction between nucleons.

We search for a spin-dependent P- and T-violating nucleon-nucleon interaction mediated by light pseudoscalar bosons such as axions or axionlike particles. We employ an ultrasensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free precession of colocated 3He and 129Xe nuclear spins using SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. The precession frequency shift in the presence of an unpolarized mass was measured to determine the coupling of pseudoscalar particles to the spin of the bound neutron. For boson masses between 2 and 500  μeV (force ranges between 3×1(-4)  m and 10(-1)  m) we improved the laboratory upper bounds by up to 4 orders of magnitude.

HP-Xe to go: Storage and transportation of hyperpolarized (129)Xenon.

Recently the spin-lattice relaxation time T1 of hyperpolarized (HP)-(129)Xe was significantly improved by using uncoated and Rb-free storage vessels of GE180 glass. For these cells, a simple procedure was established to obtain reproducible wall relaxation times of about 18 h. Then the limiting relaxation mechanism in pure Xe is due to the coupling between the nuclear spins and the angular momentum of the Xe-Xe van-der-Waals-molecules. This mechanism can be significantly reduced by using different buffer gases of which CO2 was discovered to be the most efficient so far. From these values, it was estimated that for a 1:1 mixture of HP-Xe with CO2 a longitudinal relaxation time of about 7 h can be expected, sufficient to transport HP-Xe from a production to a remote application site. This prediction was verified for such a mixture at a total pressure of about 1 bar in a 10 cm glass cell showing a storage time of T1≈9 h (for T1(wall)=(34±9) h) which was transported inside a magnetic box over a distance of about 200 km by car.

Upgrade of the ultracold neutron source at the pulsed reactor TRIGA Mainz

Abstract.The performance of the upgraded solid deuterium ultracold neutron source at the pulsed reactor TRIGA Mainz is described. The current configuration stage comprises the installation of a He liquefier to run UCN experiments over long-term periods, the use of stainless steel neutron guides with improved transmission as well as sputter-coated non-magnetic 58NiMo alloy at the inside walls of the thermal bridge and the converter cup. The UCN yield was measured in a “standard” UCN storage bottle (stainless steel) with a volume of 32 litres outside the biological shield at the experimental area yielding UCN densities of 8.5/cm3; an increase by a factor of 3.5 compared to the former setup. The measured UCN storage curve is in good agreement with the predictions from a Monte Carlo simulation developed to model the source. The growth and formation of the solid deuterium converter during freeze-out are affected by the ortho/para ratio of the H2 premoderator.

Search for Spin-Dependent Short-Range Interaction with an 3He/129Xe Clock Comparison Experiment

We performed an experiment to search for a new spin-dependent P- and T-violating nucleon–nucleon interaction σ→ ⋅r which is mediated by light pseudoscalar bosons such as axions or axionlike particles. This interaction causes a shift Δν in the precession frequency of nuclear spin polarized gases in the presence of an unpolarized mass. In order to measure this frequency shift a 3He/129Xe comagnetometer was used which is based on the detection of free precession of 3He and 129Xe nuclear spins using SQUIDs as detectors. For the upper limit of Δνsp we obtained 7.1nHz. With this value, an upper limit of the scalar-pseudoscalar coupling of the axion to the spin of a bound neutron could be deduced within the axion mass window. For axion masses between 2 and 500μeV, the laboratory upper bounds were improved by up to 4 orders of magnitude.

The Proton Spectrum in Neutron Beta Decay: First Results with the aSPECT spectrometer

First measurements with the aSPECT spectrometer have been performed in a beam time at the beam line MEPHISTO of the neutron research reactor FRM‐II. In this paper we give a short description of the spectrometer. The data analysis is still underway.