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Measurement of neutron decay parameters - The abBA experiment

Journal Article · · Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.6028/jres.110.058· OSTI ID:1628762
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [6];  [7];  [7];  [7];  [8];  [8];  [9] more »;  [10];  [11] « less
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); DOE/OSTI
  2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  3. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  4. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  5. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  6. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
  7. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  8. Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States)
  9. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
  10. Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (United States)
  11. Hamilton College, Clinton, NY (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
We are developing an experiment to measure the correlations a, A, and B, and the Fierz interference term b in neutron decay, with a precision of approximately 10-4. The experiment uses an electromagnetic spectrometer in combination with two large-area segmented silicon detectors to detect the proton and electron from the decay in coincidence, with 4π acceptance for both particles. For the neutron-polarization-dependent observables A and B, precision neutron polarimetry is achieved through the combination of a pulsed neutron beam, under construction at the SNS, and a polarized 3He neutron polarizer. Measuring a and A in the same apparatus provides a redundant determination of λ = gA/gV. Uncertainty in λ dominates the uncertainty of CKM unitarity tests.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1628762
Journal Information:
Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Journal Name: Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 110; ISSN 1044-677X
Publisher:
National Institute of Standards (NIST)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (2)

Measurements of the Antineutrino Spin Asymmetry in Beta Decay of the Neutron and Restrictions on the Mass of a Right-Handed Gauge Boson journal July 1995
Is the Unitarity of the Quark-Mixing CKM Matrix Violated in Neutron β -Decay? journal May 2002

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Related Subjects

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
Instruments & Instrumentation
Physics
neutron beta decay
weak interactions