Ultracold Neutron Production in a Pulsed Neutron Beam Line

TL;DR

This study investigates ultracold neutron production in a pulsed neutron beam line, introducing a background subtraction method based on timing differences to reliably measure UCN signals and assess production efficiency.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel background subtraction technique leveraging timing profiles to improve UCN detection accuracy in pulsed neutron experiments.

Findings

UCN upscattering cross-section is smaller than previously estimated.

The apparatus effectively calibrates UCN transmission using solid D$_2$.

The incoherent approximation may overestimate inelastic cross-sections.

Abstract

We present the results of an Ultracold neutron (UCN) production experiment in a pulsed neutron beam line at the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center. The experimental apparatus allows for a comprehensive set of measurements of UCN production as a function of target temperature, incident neutron energy, target volume, and applied magnetic field. However, the low counting statistics of the UCN signal expected can be overwhelmed by the large background associated with the scattering of the primary cold neutron flux that is required for UCN production. We have developed a background subtraction technique that takes advantage of the very different time-of-flight profiles between the UCN and the cold neutrons, in the pulsed beam. Using the unique timing structure, we can reliably extract the UCN signal. Solid ortho-D$_2$ is used to calibrate UCN transmission through the apparatus, which is designed primarily for studies of UCN production in solid O$_2$. In addition to setting the overall detection efficiency in the apparatus, UCN production data using solid D$_2$ suggest that the UCN upscattering cross-section is smaller than previous estimates, indicating the deficiency of the incoherent approximation widely used to estimate inelastic cross-sections in the thermal and cold regimes.