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Title: aCORN: An experiment to measure the electron-antineutrino correlation coefficient in free neutron decay

Abstract

Here, we describe an apparatus used to measure the electron-antineutrino angular correlation coefficient in free neutron decay. This apparatus employs a novel measurement technique in which the angular correlation is converted into a proton time-of-flight asymmetry that is counted directly, avoiding the need for proton spectroscopy. We present details of the method, apparatus, detectors, data acquisition, and data reduction scheme, along with a discussion of the important systematic effects.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [4];  [4]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [1];  [6]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2];  [7];  [2];  [7];  [4] more »; ORCiD logo [1];  [4];  [4];  [8] « less
  1. Hamilton College, Clinton, NY (United States). Physics Dept.
  2. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
  3. Univ. of Sussex, Brighton (United Kingdom)
  4. Tulane Univ., New Orleans, LA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Engineering Physics
  5. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
  6. DePauw Univ., Greencastle, IN (United States)
  7. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). CEEM
  8. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Physics Dept.
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1375875
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1373447
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-17-20662
Journal ID: ISSN 0034-6748
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-06NA25396; SC0014148
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Review of Scientific Instruments
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 88; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 0034-6748
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; fundamental symmetries; neutron decay; beta decay; angular correlation

Citation Formats

Collett, B., Bateman, F., Bauder, W. K., Byrne, J., Byron, W. A., Chen, W., Darius, G., DeAngelis, C., Dewey, M. S., Gentile, T. R., Hassan, M. T., Jones, G. L., Komives, A., Laptev, A., Mendenhall, M. P., Nico, J. S., Noid, G., Park, H., Stephenson, E. J., Stern, I., Stockton, K. J. S., Trull, C., Wietfeldt, F. E., and Yerozolimsky, B. G. aCORN: An experiment to measure the electron-antineutrino correlation coefficient in free neutron decay. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4996542.
Collett, B., Bateman, F., Bauder, W. K., Byrne, J., Byron, W. A., Chen, W., Darius, G., DeAngelis, C., Dewey, M. S., Gentile, T. R., Hassan, M. T., Jones, G. L., Komives, A., Laptev, A., Mendenhall, M. P., Nico, J. S., Noid, G., Park, H., Stephenson, E. J., Stern, I., Stockton, K. J. S., Trull, C., Wietfeldt, F. E., & Yerozolimsky, B. G. aCORN: An experiment to measure the electron-antineutrino correlation coefficient in free neutron decay. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4996542
Collett, B., Bateman, F., Bauder, W. K., Byrne, J., Byron, W. A., Chen, W., Darius, G., DeAngelis, C., Dewey, M. S., Gentile, T. R., Hassan, M. T., Jones, G. L., Komives, A., Laptev, A., Mendenhall, M. P., Nico, J. S., Noid, G., Park, H., Stephenson, E. J., Stern, I., Stockton, K. J. S., Trull, C., Wietfeldt, F. E., and Yerozolimsky, B. G. Tue . "aCORN: An experiment to measure the electron-antineutrino correlation coefficient in free neutron decay". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4996542. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1375875.
@article{osti_1375875,
title = {aCORN: An experiment to measure the electron-antineutrino correlation coefficient in free neutron decay},
author = {Collett, B. and Bateman, F. and Bauder, W. K. and Byrne, J. and Byron, W. A. and Chen, W. and Darius, G. and DeAngelis, C. and Dewey, M. S. and Gentile, T. R. and Hassan, M. T. and Jones, G. L. and Komives, A. and Laptev, A. and Mendenhall, M. P. and Nico, J. S. and Noid, G. and Park, H. and Stephenson, E. J. and Stern, I. and Stockton, K. J. S. and Trull, C. and Wietfeldt, F. E. and Yerozolimsky, B. G.},
abstractNote = {Here, we describe an apparatus used to measure the electron-antineutrino angular correlation coefficient in free neutron decay. This apparatus employs a novel measurement technique in which the angular correlation is converted into a proton time-of-flight asymmetry that is counted directly, avoiding the need for proton spectroscopy. We present details of the method, apparatus, detectors, data acquisition, and data reduction scheme, along with a discussion of the important systematic effects.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4996542},
journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
number = 8,
volume = 88,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

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