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College of Science Physics Dept Research Nuclear & Particle |
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Ultra Cold Neutrons The "A" Correlation Experiment |
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VT Research Personnel:
Degrees Awarded: Description of Research & Links: The well known left-handed asymmetry in the weak interaction is about the only way to let someone in a distant galaxy know what we mean by right and left. However, the energy dependence of this asymmetry is fertile ground to explore new physical phenomena, since the Standard Model makes quite firm predictions, but measurements are not quite there yet. This experiment utilizes ultra-cold neutrons (UCN's). UCN's scatter elastically off nuclei and can thus be contained just like a ball in a box. In this experiment the box is non-magnetic so if the UCN's are put into the box polarized, they tend to stay polarized. Once in the box a UCN bounces around until it decays into a proton, neutrino, and electron; the electron is then captured by the detectors in the box and its energy and position are logged. The A-correlation is the energy dependence of asymmetry in the electron's direction relative to the neutron's polarization.
Ultra-cold neutrons source at Los Alamos confirmed as world's most intense |
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