Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2019
Volume 64, Number 3
Saturday–Tuesday, April 13–16, 2019; Denver, Colorado
Session C14: Mini-Symposium:The Neutron Lifetime Anomaly - current status
1:30 PM–3:06 PM,
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Sheraton
Room: Plaza Court 3
Sponsoring
Unit:
DNP
Chair: Nadia Fomin, University of Tennessee
Abstract: C14.00005 : Simulating the UCN$\tau$ Neutron Lifetime Experiment*
2:42 PM–2:54 PM
View Presentation Abstract
Presenter:
Francisco M Gonzalez
(Indiana University Bloomington)
Author:
Francisco M Gonzalez
(Indiana University Bloomington)
Collaboration:
UCN$\tau$ Collaboration
The UCN$\tau$ experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory measures the neutron lifetime by storing ultracold neutrons (UCNs) in a magneto-gravitational trap for variable holding times, which can be longer than the neutron’s lifetime. Systematic effects can occur due to changes in the UCN phase space distribution between different holding times, potentially exposing neutrons to loss mechanisms besides the fundamental neutron decay rate, or changing the detection efficiency of UCN in the trap. In order to minimize and understand possible sources of loss, we have utilized a Monte Carlo simulation of UCN trajectories. Additionally, this simulation allows us to model the UCN capture efficiency of the in-situ dagger detector. The simulation uses Indiana University’s Big Red II supercomputer to symplectically integrate neutrons in a magnetic potential derived from an analytic expression for the trap’s field. By modifying characteristics of the simulated trap, such as heating amount or cleaning height, we can look for effects on the measured lifetime. We will present results of these simulations as part of an effort to reduce UCN$\tau$’s total uncertainty to about 0.2 seconds.
*DOE Office of Science, LANL LDRD, and NSF
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700