A new experiment to measure the electric dipole moment of the neutron?
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (United States)
For nearly fifty years, the limits on the electric dipole moment of the neutron have provided information of great importance in our understanding of the fundamental symmetries of nature. Current experiments using bottled Ultra Cold Neutrons (UCN) provide the best experimental limits on the neutron EDM. While modest improvements may be expected by extension of current methods, major reductions in the experimental error appear unlikely due to statistical sensitivity and systematic effects. This situation is unfortunate as several theoretical notions (supersymmetry and the origin of the baryon asymmetry) suggest a magnitude for the neutron EDM which may be only one or two orders of magnitude below the current limit. Recently, Golub and Lamoreaux (1) have suggested a new method for the measurement of the neutron EDM that uses a novel feature of the interaction between low energy neutron and superfluid {sup 4}He to provide a very high density of UCN in an experimental volume. The proposed method also promises a significant reduction in the dominant systematic effect using a polarized {sup 3}He co-magnetometer in the same volume. Their careful analysis suggests that an improvement of two orders of magnitude in the uncertainty of the neutron EDM may be possible. A review of the current experimental situation is given and the prospects for the realization of such a new experiment are discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 21175393
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 412, Issue 1; Conference: 6. conference on the intersections of particle and nuclear physcis, Big Sky, MT (United States), 25 May - 2 Jun 1997; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.54329; (c) 1997 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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