A non-depolarizing CuTi neutron supermirror guide for PERC

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel copper-titanium neutron supermirror guide that maintains neutron beam polarization and exhibits high reflectivity and stability under high temperatures, improving neutron transport for precision experiments.

Contribution

The paper presents a new non-depolarizing neutron supermirror guide based on copper and titanium, addressing spin-dependence issues of conventional guides.

Findings

High reflectivity of the copper-titanium supermirror

Stable performance under high temperatures

Preserves neutron beam polarization

Abstract

Neutron guides are used to transport slow neutrons from sources to experiments. Conventional neutron supermirror guides use alternating thin layers based on nickel and titanium. Due to the magnetic properties of nickel, their neutron reflection properties are spin-dependent, in particular when exposed to high magnetic fields. Motivated by the requirements of precision experiments on neutron beta decay, we present novel supermirrors based on copper and titanium, which preserve the neutron beam polarization. These show excellent reflectivity and prove to be very stable even when exposed to high temperatures.