Bochum 2018 – scientific programme

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HK: Fachverband Physik der Hadronen und Kerne

HK 51: Instrumentation XVI

HK 51.4: Talk

Thursday, March 1, 2018, 15:00–15:15, HZO 90

Ultracold neutron sources and applications at the research reactor TRIGA Mainz — •Christian Gorges¹, Christopher Geppert¹, Werner Heil², Jan Kahlenberg², Jan Karch², Sergei Karpuk¹, Tobias Reich¹, Dieter Ries¹, Kim Ulrike Ross¹, Yury Sobolev¹, and Norbert Trautmann¹ — ¹Institut für Kernchemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz — ²Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

The inherent safe research reactor TRIGA Mainz is able to produce short neutron pulses with an energy of 10 MWs for a short time of 30 ms. This makes it a perfect tool for the investigation of the free neutron’s lifetime and for fundamental neutron research in general.

A source for Ultracold Neutrons (UCN) (neutrons with kinetic energies below 335 neV) has been built and is in operation at the research reactor TRIGA Mainz. A UCN density of up to 8.5 UCN per cm³ per neutron pulse was established [1]. At the TRIGA Mainz, a second UCN source can be used in the continuous reactor operation mode with 100 kW thermal reactor power, e.g., to test and improve the properties of experimental components like detectors etc.

The research reactor itself is also a powerful tool to simulate accelerated aging and to test radiation hardness of electronic components in radiative areas. After a short introduction of the facility and a few applications, the talk will concentrate on the UCN production mechanism and the infrastructure of the UCN source.

[1] J. Kahlenberg et al., Eur. Phys. J. A (2017) 53: 226