Measurements of ultracold neutron upscattering and absorption in polyethylene and vanadium

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of ultracold neutron upscattering and absorption cross sections in polyethylene and vanadium, revealing discrepancies with theoretical predictions for hydrogen and confirming expectations for vanadium.

Contribution

It provides new experimental data on neutron cross sections for hydrogen in polyethylene and vanadium, clarifying previous inconsistencies and supporting theoretical models.

Findings

Hydrogen in CH₂ has an upscattering cross section of 1972±130 b, below theoretical predictions.

Vanadium's upscattering cross section is less than 25±9 b, aligning with thermal excitation expectations.

Results improve understanding of neutron interactions with common absorber materials.

Abstract

The study of neutron cross sections for elements used as efficient ``absorbers'' of ultracold neutrons (UCN) is crucial for many precision experiments in nuclear and particle physics, cosmology and gravity. In this context, ``absorption'' includes both the capture and upscattering of neutrons to the energies above the UCN energy region. The available data, especially for hydrogen, do not agree between themselves or with the theory. In this report we describe measurements performed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory UCN facility of the UCN upscattering cross sections for vanadium and for hydrogen in CH$_2$ using simultaneous measurements of the radiative capture cross sections for these elements. We measured $\sigma_{up}=1972\pm130$ b for hydrogen in CH$_2$, which is below theoretical expectations, and $\sigma_{up} < 25\pm9$ b for vanadium, in agreement with the expectation for the neutron heating by thermal excitations in solids.