Decay Lifetimes of the Vector and Tensor Polarization of a Stored Deuteron Beam

TL;DR

This paper investigates the unexpected ratio of decay lifetimes of vector and tensor polarizations in a stored deuteron beam, revealing discrepancies from standard theory and exploring potential explanations.

Contribution

It presents experimental measurements of polarization decay lifetimes and attempts to develop a theoretical understanding of the observed ratio discrepancy.

Findings

Decay lifetime ratio of 1.9:1 observed

Discrepancy from expected 3:1 ratio

Efforts to explain the phenomenon theoretically

Abstract

An rf solenoid was operated in the IUCF Cooler to induce a depolarizing spin resonance for a stored polarized deuteron beam. The decay lifetimes of the vector and tensor polarizations were found to be in the ratio $1.9:1$, as opposed to the expected ratio of $3:1$ from standard angular momentum theory. This report describes my investigations and attempts to formulate a theoretical explanation of the above phenomenon.