A prestorage method to measure neutron transmission of ultracold neutron guides

TL;DR

This paper introduces a prestorage technique to accurately measure neutron transmission in ultracold neutron guides, enhancing the ability to evaluate and optimize UCN transport for precision physics experiments.

Contribution

The study presents a novel prestorage method for quantifying UCN transmission, enabling better qualification and comparison of UCN guides for experimental use.

Findings

Successfully measured UCN transmission using the prestorage method

Enabled comparison of different UCN guide properties

Improved assessment of guide suitability for precision experiments

Abstract

There are worldwide efforts to search for physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Precision experiments using ultracold neutrons (UCN) require very high intensities of UCN. Efficient transport of UCN from the production volume to the experiment is therefore of great importance. We have developed a method using prestored UCN in order to quantify UCN transmission in tubular guides. This method simulates the final installation at the Paul Scherrer Institute's UCN source where neutrons are stored in an intermediate storage vessel serving three experimental ports. This method allowed us to qualify UCN guides for their intended use and compare their properties.