Update on the UCNProBe experiment
ORAL
Abstract
UCNProBe is a novel experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory dedicated to measure lifetime of free neutrons. There is currently ~10 second discrepancy between the two main types of measurement methods. The first type utilizes a cold neutron beam and detects charged particles from the decayed neutrons. The second type uses ultracold neutrons (UCN), which are neutrons with energies below ~200 neV. This type stores UCN in material or magnetic bottles and counts neutrons directly after some storage time has passed. UCNProBe will uniquely incorporate both methods to provide a new independent measurement of the free neutron lifetime. In the experiment’s setup, UCN will be trapped using a plastic scintillator box that will also serve as an in situ detector for electrons originating in the beta decay. Neutrons will be counted using a boron-coated YAP:Ce scintillator. This talk will provide an overview and the latest updates on UCNProBe’s development.
*This work was supported by the Los Alamos National Laboratory LDRD Program (Project No. 20190048 ER), National Science Foundation (Grant No. PHY1914133), and U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics (Grant No. DE-FG02-97ER41042, DE-FOA-0002821).
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Presenters
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Martin Krivos
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)