Parity violation and cold neutron capture: a study of the detailed interaction between hadrons
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Date
2016
Authors
McCrea, Mark
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Abstract
Despite decades of theoretical and experimental investigation, the fundamental interactions between nucleons remains poorly understood. While the strong interaction is responsible for binding quarks into nucleons, and nucleons into nuclei, there is no consistent description of these processes. At the low energies where nucleon binding occurs, the interactions are in principle calculable from quantum chromodynamics, but the required non-perturbative calculations are not possible. Instead, different models have been created to describe different phenomena.
These models require experimental input to constrain them. As the expected weak interaction effects are not seen in the strangeness-conserving systems as have been seen in other systems, it is believed that the strong interaction interferes with the weak interaction. Therefore by measuring parity-violating observables that occur due to the weak interaction, information can be gained about the strong interaction.
The NPDGamma and n3He experiments are two complementary experiments that measured a parity violating observables in a few nucleon system. They ran on the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline at the Spallation Neutron Source.
The NPDGamma experiment measured the parity violating directional asymmetry in the gamma ray's emission direction after polarized cold neutron capture on a liquid parahydrogen target using an array of 48 CsI detectors.
The n3He experiment measured the parity violating directional asymmetry in the proton emission direction after polarized cold neutron capture on a gaseous $^{3}$He target. The capture occurs inside an ionization chamber that measures the proton emission direction.
Both experiments have completed data taking with data analysis in an advanced state. These experiments should be able to be used with a number of already existing experimental results to constrain the models.
I designed and assembled a pair of $^{3}$He ionization chambers that were used as beam monitors during the experiments. Using the lessons learned from the beam monitors, I then designed and assembled the ionization chamber that is the combined target and detector for the n3He experiment. The monitors and target chamber were examined to determine their charge collection properties and linearity after installation. One of the monitors was calibrated to determine the neutron flux from the output current.
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Keywords
fundamental symmetries, cold neutron, ionization chamber, hadron, parity violation, Helium-3