First measurement of the beta-asymmetry using ultracold neutrons
The Experimental Subatomic Physics Group at the University of Winnipeg performs research in the areas of nuclear and particle physics. The research program is focused on the fundamental structure and interactions of nucleons and hadronic systems and the use of nuclear physics to perform precision tests of the standard electroweak theory. A substantial part of the experimental program involves studies of parity violation in electron scattering from nucleons and nuclei. A program to exploit a new intense source of ultra-cold neutrons in Los Alamos will study the beta asymmetry in neutron decay with unprecedented precision as well as other fundamental properties of neutrons.
Image: schematic diagram of the UCNA experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Ultracold Neutrons (UCN) are produced in the source and diffuse out to the spectrometer magnet where they decay. Detectors placed at either end of the magnet sense the betas from their decays. Our paper describes the first ever measurement of the decay asymmetry for polarized neutrons using this technique.
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Contact Jeff Martin for more information.
Physics Department