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HK: Fachverband Physik der Hadronen und Kerne

HK 28: Instrumentation VII

HK 28.1: Group Report

Tuesday, March 12, 2024, 17:30–18:00, HBR 19: C 2

τSPECT - a magnetic storage bottle for measuring the puzzling free neutron lifetime — •Noah Yazdandoost¹, Martin Fertl², and Dieter Ries³ for the tauSPECT collaboration — ¹Department of Chemistry - TRIGA site, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany — ²Institute of Physics, JGU Mainz, Mainz, Germany — ³Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, Switzerland

The free neutron lifetime holds significance in understanding the production of light elements in the early universe and in determining the matrix element V_ud within the quark mixing matrix, which can be used to probe the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Previous measurements of the free neutron lifetime using two distinct methods have yielded incompatible results, emphasizing the need for a complementary approach.

In response, the τSPECT experiment offers a unique approach to measure the free neutron lifetime. The spin of neutrons, with kinetic energies in the nanoelectronvolt range, is flipped while filling those neutrons into τSPECT’s storage volume. The neutrons are confined solely by the magnetic interaction, which minimizes systematic uncertainties by eliminating interactions between stored neutrons and wall atoms, providing a more reliable measurement of the neutron lifetime.

This presentation provides a overview of the τSPECT experiment. It will showcase data from the commissioning phase conducted at the TRIGA research reactor in Mainz, followed by the presentation of the latest data obtained after relocating the experiment to the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.

Keywords: neutron; lifetime; magnetic storage; CKM-Matrix; spin-flip