Optimizing magnetically shielded solenoids.

An important consideration when designing a magnetostatic cavity for various applications is to maximize the ratio of the volume of field homogeneity to the overall size of the cavity. We report a design of a magnetically shielded solenoid that significantly improves the transverse field gradient averaged over a volume of 1000 cm3 by placing compensation coils around the holes in the mu-metal end caps rather than the conventional design in which the compensation coils are placed on the main solenoid. Our application is polarized 3He-based neutron spin filters, and our goal was to minimize the volume-averaged transverse field gradient, thereby the gradient induced relaxation time, over a 3He cell. For solenoids with end cap holes of different sizes, additional improvements in the field gradient were accomplished by introducing non-identical compensation coils centered around the non-identical holes in the end caps. The improved designs have yielded an overall factor of 7 decrease in the gradient in the solenoid, hence a factor of 50 increase in the gradient induced relaxation time of the 3He polarization. The results from both simulation and experiments for the development of several such solenoids are presented. Whereas our focus is on the development of magnetically shielded solenoids for 3He neutron spin filters, the approach can be applied for other applications demanding a high level of field homogeneity over a large volume.

Sensitive neutron transverse polarization analysis using a 3He spin filter.

We report an experimental implementation for neutron transverse polarization analysis that is capable of detecting a small angular change (≪10-3 rad) in neutron spin orientation. This approach is demonstrated for monochromatic beams, and we show that it could be extended to polychromatic neutron beams. Our approach employs a 3He spin filter inside a solenoid with an analyzing direction perpendicular to the incident neutron polarization direction. The method was tested with polarized neutron beams and a spin rotator placed inside a µ-metal shield just upstream of the analyzer. No cryogenic superconducting shields or additional neutron spin manipulations are needed. With a counting detector, we experimentally show that the angular resolution δθ=1/(PnAN) rad is only determined by the counting statistics for the total counts N and the product of the neutron polarization Pn and the analyzing power A. With a high-flux neutron beam, 10-6 rad angular sensitivity is feasible within a day. This simple, classical-quantum-limited transverse polarization analysis scheme may reduce the overall complexity of experimental implementation for applications requiring sensitive neutron polarimetry and improve the precision in fundamental science studies and polarized neutron imaging.

Direct observation of spin rotation in Bragg scattering due to the spin-orbit interaction in silicon.

As a neutron scatters from a target nucleus, there is a small but measurable effect caused by the interaction of the neutron's magnetic dipole moment with that of the partially screened electric field of the nucleus. This spin-orbit interaction is typically referred to as Schwinger scattering and induces a small rotation of the neutron's spin on the order of 10-4 rad for Bragg diffraction from silicon. In our experiment, neutrons undergo greater than 100 successive Bragg reflections from the walls of a slotted, perfect-silicon crystal to amplify the total spin rotation. A magnetic field is employed to insure constructive addition as the neutron undergoes this series of reflections. The strength of the spin-orbit interaction, which is directly proportional to the electric field, was determined by measuring the rotation of the neutron's spin-polarization vector. Our measurements show good agreement with the expected variation of this rotation with the applied magnetic field, while the magnitude of the rotation is ≈40 % larger than expected.

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

We describe an apparatus used to measure the electron-antineutrino angular correlation coefficient in free neutron decay. The 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. Details of the method, apparatus, detectors, data acquisition, and data reduction scheme are presented, along with a discussion of the important systematic effects.

Optically polarized 3He.

This article reviews the physics and technology of producing large quantities of highly spin-polarized 3He nuclei using spin-exchange (SEOP) and metastability-exchange (MEOP) optical pumping. Both technical developments and deeper understanding of the physical processes involved have led to substantial improvements in the capabilities of both methods. For SEOP, the use of spectrally narrowed lasers and K-Rb mixtures has substantially increased the achievable polarization and polarizing rate. For MEOP nearly lossless compression allows for rapid production of polarized 3He and operation in high magnetic fields has likewise significantly increased the pressure at which this method can be performed, and revealed new phenomena. Both methods have benefitted from development of storage methods that allow for spin-relaxation times of hundreds of hours, and specialized precision methods for polarimetry. SEOP and MEOP are now widely applied for spin-polarized targets, neutron spin filters, magnetic resonance imaging, and precision measurements.

Precision Measurement of the Radiative ß Decay of the Free Neutron.

The standard model predicts that, in addition to a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, a continuous spectrum of photons is emitted in the ß decay of the free neutron. We report on the RDK II experiment which measured the photon spectrum using two different detector arrays. An annular array of bismuth germanium oxide scintillators detected photons from 14 to 782 keV. The spectral shape was consistent with theory, and we determined a branching ratio of 0.00335±0.00005[stat]±0.00015[syst]. A second detector array of large area avalanche photodiodes directly detected photons from 0.4 to 14 keV. For this array, the spectral shape was consistent with theory, and the branching ratio was determined to be 0.00582±0.00023[stat]±0.00062[syst]. We report the first precision test of the shape of the photon energy spectrum from neutron radiative decay and a substantially improved determination of the branching ratio over a broad range of photon energies.

In situ polarized 3He system for the Magnetism Reflectometer at the Spallation Neutron Source.

We report on the in situ polarized (3)He neutron polarization analyzer developed for the time-of-flight Magnetism Reflectometer at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Using the spin exchange optical pumping method, we achieved a (3)He polarization of 76% ± 1% and maintained it for the entire three-day duration of the test experiment. Based on transmission measurements with unpolarized neutrons, we show that the average analyzing efficiency of the (3)He system is 98% for the neutron wavelength band of 2-5 Å. Using a highly polarized incident neutron beam produced by a supermirror bender polarizer, we obtained a flipping ratio of >100 with a transmission of 25% for polarized neutrons, averaged over the wavelength band of 2-5 Å. After the cell was depolarized for transmission measurements, it was reproducibly polarized and this performance was maintained for three weeks. A high quality polarization analysis experiment was performed on a reference sample of Fe/Cr multilayer with strong spin-flip off-specular scattering. Using a combination of the position sensitive detector, time-of-flight method, and the excellent parameters of the (3)He cell, the polarization analysis of the two-dimensional maps of reflected, refracted, and off-specular scattered intensity above and below the horizon were obtained, simultaneously.

Response of large area avalanche photodiodes to low energy x rays.

For an experiment to study neutron radiative beta-decay, we operated large area avalanche photodiodes (APDs) near liquid nitrogen temperature to detect x rays with energies between 0.2 keV and 20 keV. Whereas there are numerous reports of x ray spectrometry using APDs at energies above 1 keV, operation near liquid nitrogen temperature allowed us to reach a nominal threshold of 0.1 keV. However, due to the short penetration depth of x rays below 1 keV, the pulse height spectrum of the APD become complex. We studied the response using monochromatic x ray beams and employed phenomenological fits of the pulse height spectrum to model the measurement of a continuum spectrum from a synchrotron. In addition, the measured pulse height spectrum was modelled using a profile for the variation in efficiency of collection of photoelectrons with depth into the APD. The best results are obtained with the collection efficiency model.

Friedel-like oscillations from interstitial iron in superconducting Fe(1+y)Te0.62Se0.38.

Using polarized and unpolarized neutron scattering, we show that interstitial Fe in superconducting Fe(1+y)Te(1-x)Se(x) induces a magnetic Friedel-like oscillation that diffracts at Q⊥=(1/2 0) and involves >50 neighboring Fe sites. The interstitial >2µ(B) moment is surrounded by compensating ferromagnetic four-spin clusters that may seed double stripe ordering in Fe(1+y)Te. A semimetallic five-band model with (1/2 1/2) Fermi surface nesting and fourfold symmetric superexchange between interstitial Fe and two in-plane nearest neighbors largely accounts for the observed diffraction.

Core-shell magnetic morphology of structurally uniform magnetite nanoparticles.

A new development in small-angle neutron scattering with polarization analysis allows us to directly extract the average spatial distributions of magnetic moments and their correlations with three-dimensional directional sensitivity in any magnetic field. Applied to a collection of spherical magnetite nanoparticles 9.0 nm in diameter, this enhanced method reveals uniformly canted, magnetically active shells in a nominally saturating field of 1.2 T. The shell thickness depends on temperature, and it disappears altogether when the external field is removed, confirming that these canted nanoparticle shells are magnetic, rather than structural, in origin.

Internal quantum efficiency modeling of silicon photodiodes.

Results are presented for modeling of the shape of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) versus wavelength for silicon photodiodes in the 400 nm to 900 nm wavelength range. The IQE data are based on measurements of the external quantum efficiencies of three transmission optical trap detectors using an extensive set of laser wavelengths, along with the transmittance of the traps. We find that a simplified version of a previously reported IQE model fits the data with an accuracy of better than 0.01%. These results provide an important validation of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) spectral radiant power responsivity scale disseminated through the NIST Spectral Comparator Facility, as well as those scales disseminated by other National Metrology Institutes who have employed the same model.

Coupled magnetic and ferroelectric domains in multiferroic Ni3V2O8.

Electric control of multiferroic domains is demonstrated through polarized magnetic neutron diffraction. Cooling to the cycloidal multiferroic phase of Ni3V2O8 in an electric field E causes the incommensurate Bragg reflections to become neutron spin polarizing, the sense of neutron polarization reversing with E. Quantitative analysis indicates the E-treated sample has a handedness that can be reversed by E. We further show a close association between cycloidal and ferroelectric domains through E-driven spin and electric polarization hysteresis. We suggest that a definite cycloidal handedness is achieved through magnetoelastically induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions.

End-compensated magnetostatic cavity for polarized 3He neutron spin filters.

We have expanded upon the "Magic Box" concept, a coil driven magnetic parallel plate capacitor constructed out of mu-metal, by introducing compensation sections at the ends of the box that are tuned to limit end-effects similar to those of short solenoids. This ability has reduced the length of the magic box design without sacrificing any loss in field homogeneity, making the device far more applicable to the often space limited neutron beam line. The appeal of the design beyond affording longer polarized 3He lifetimes is that it provides a vertical guide field, which facilitates neutron spin transport for typical polarized beam experiments. We have constructed two end-compensated magic boxes of dimensions 28.4 x 40 x 15 cm3 (length x width x height) with measured, normalized volume-averaged transverse field gradients ranging from 3.3 x 10(-4) to 6.3 x 10(-4) cm(-1) for cell sizes ranging from 8.1 x 6.0 to 12.0 x 7.9 cm2 (diameter x length), respectively.

Precision measurement of the n-3He incoherent scattering length using neutron interferometry.

We report the first measurement of the low-energy neutron-(3)He incoherent scattering length using neutron interferometry: b_{i};{'} = (-2.512 +/- 0.012 stat +/- 0.014 syst) fm. This is in good agreement with a recent calculation using the AV18 + 3N potential. The neutron-(3)He scattering lengths are important for testing and developing nuclear potential models that include three-nucleon forces, effective field theories for few-body nuclear systems, and neutron scattering measurements of quantum excitations in liquid helium. This work demonstrates the first use of a polarized nuclear target in a neutron interferometer.

Neutron beam effects on spin-exchange-polarized 3He.

We have observed depolarization effects when high intensity cold neutron beams are incident on alkali-metal spin-exchange-polarized 3He cells used as neutron spin filters. This was first observed as a reduction of the maximum attainable 3He polarization and was attributed to a decrease of alkali-metal polarization, which led us to directly measure alkali-metal polarization and spin relaxation over a range of neutron fluxes at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center and Institute Laue-Langevin. The data reveal a new alkali-metal spin-relaxation mechanism that approximately scales as sqrt[phi_{n}], where phi_{n} is the neutron capture-flux density incident on the cell. This is consistent with an effect proportional to the concentration of electron-ion pairs but is much larger than expected from earlier work.

Limits to the polarization for spin-exchange optical pumping of 3He.

Based on measurements of the temperature dependence of 3He relaxation in a wide range of spin-exchange optical pumping cells, we report evidence for a previously unrecognized surface relaxation process. The relaxation rate was found to be linearly proportional to the alkali-metal density with a slope that exceeds the spin-exchange rate, which limits the polarization for current applications, including neutron spin filters, polarized targets, and polarized gas magnetic resonance imaging. We find that the magnitude of this excess relaxation can vary widely between cells, and that the variation is larger for cells of higher surface to volume ratio. We have observed 3He polarization as high as 81%, but further improvements require understanding the origin of this relaxation.

The Fundamental Neutron Physics Facilities at NIST.

The program in fundamental neutron physics at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began nearly two decades ago. The Neutron Interactions and Dosimetry Group currently maintains four neutron beam lines dedicated to studies of fundamental neutron interactions. The neutrons are provided by the NIST Center for Neutron Research, a national user facility for studies that include condensed matter physics, materials science, nuclear chemistry, and biological science. The beam lines for fundamental physics experiments include a high-intensity polychromatic beam, a 0.496 nm monochromatic beam, a 0.89 nm monochromatic beam, and a neutron interferometer and optics facility. This paper discusses some of the parameters of the beam lines along with brief presentations of some of the experiments performed at the facilities.

Measurement of Parity Violation in np Capture: the NPDGamma Experiment.

The NPDGamma experiment will measure the parity-violating directional gamma ray asymmetry A γ in the reaction [Formula: see text]. Ultimately, this will constitute the first measurement in the neutron-proton system that is sensitive enough to challenge modern theories of nuclear parity violation, providing a theoretically clean determination of the weak pion-nucleon coupling. A new beam-line at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) delivers pulsed cold neutrons to the apparatus, where they are polarized by transmission through a large volume polarized (3)He spin filter and captured in a liquid para-hydrogen target. The 2.2 MeV gamma rays from the capture reaction are detected in an array of CsI(Tl) scintillators read out by vacuum photodiodes operated in current mode. We will complete commissioning of the apparatus and carry out a first measurement at LANSCE in 2004-05, which would provide a statistics-limited result for A γ accurate to a standard uncertainty of ±5 × 10(-8) level or better, improving on existing measurements in the neutron-proton system by a factor of 4. Plans to move the experiment to a reactor facility, where the greater flux would enable us to make a measurement with a standard uncertainty of ±1 × 10(-8), are actively being pursued for the longer term.

Commissioning of the NPDGamma Detector Array: Counting Statistics in Current Mode Operation and Parity Violation in the Capture of Cold Neutrons on B 4 C and (27) Al.

The NPDGamma γ-ray detector has been built to measure, with high accuracy, the size of the small parity-violating asymmetry in the angular distribution of gamma rays from the capture of polarized cold neutrons by protons. The high cold neutron flux at the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center (LANSCE) spallation neutron source and control of systematic errors require the use of current mode detection with vacuum photodiodes and low-noise solid-state preamplifiers. We show that the detector array operates at counting statistics and that the asymmetries due to B4C and (27)Al are zero to with- in 2 × 10(-6) and 7 × 10(-7), respectively. Boron and aluminum are used throughout the experiment. The results presented here are preliminary.

Polarized (3) He Spin Filters for Slow Neutron Physics.

Polarized (3)He spin filters are needed for a variety of experiments with slow neutrons. Their demonstrated utility for highly accurate determination of neutron polarization are critical to the next generation of betadecay correlation coefficient measurements. In addition, they are broadband devices that can polarize large area and high divergence neutron beams with little gamma-ray background, and allow for an additional spin-flip for systematic tests. These attributes are relevant to all neutron sources, but are particularly well-matched to time of flight analysis at spallation sources. There are several issues in the practical use of (3)He spin filters for slow neutron physics. Besides the essential goal of maximizing the (3)He polarization, we also seek to decrease the constraints on cell lifetimes and magnetic field homogeneity. In addition, cells with highly uniform gas thickness are required to produce the spatially uniform neutron polarization needed for beta-decay correlation coefficient experiments. We are currently employing spin-exchange (SE) and metastability-exchange (ME) optical pumping to polarize (3)He, but will focus on SE. We will discuss the recent demonstration of 75 % (3)He polarization, temperature-dependent relaxation mechanism of unknown origin, cell development, spectrally narrowed lasers, and hybrid spin-exchange optical pumping.