Neutron spin rotation is expected from quark-quark weak interactions in the standard model, which induce weak interactions among nucleons that violate parity. We present the results from an ...experiment searching for the effect of parity violation via the spin rotation of polarized neutrons in a liquid 4He medium. The value for the neutron spin rotation angle per unit length in 4He, d ϕ / d z = + 2.1 ± 8.3 (stat.) - 0.2 + 2.9 (sys.) × 10 - 7 rad/m, is consistent with zero. The result agrees with the best current theoretical estimates of the size of nucleon-nucleon weak amplitudes from other experiments and with the expectations from recent theoretical approaches to weak nucleon-nucleon interactions. In this paper we review the theoretical status of parity violation in the n → + 4He system and discuss details of the data analysis leading to the quoted result. Analysis tools are presented that quantify systematic uncertainties in this measurement and that are expected to be essential for future measurements.
Precision measurement of the neutral pion lifetime Larin, I; Zhang, Y; Gasparian, A ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
05/2020, Letnik:
368, Številka:
6490
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The explicit breaking of the axial symmetry by quantum fluctuations gives rise to the so-called axial anomaly. This phenomenon is solely responsible for the decay of the neutral pion π
into two ...photons (γγ), leading to its unusually short lifetime. We precisely measured the decay width Γ of the Formula: see text process. The differential cross sections for π
photoproduction at forward angles were measured on two targets, carbon-12 and silicon-28, yielding Formula: see text, where stat. denotes the statistical uncertainty and syst. the systematic uncertainty. We combined the results of this and an earlier experiment to generate a weighted average of Formula: see text Our final result has a total uncertainty of 1.50% and confirms the prediction based on the chiral anomaly in quantum chromodynamics.
Neutron spin rotation is expected from quark-quark weak interactions in the standard model, which induce weak interactions among nucleons that violate parity. We present the results from an ...experiment searching for the effect of parity violation via the spin rotation of polarized neutrons in a liquid 4 He medium. The value for the neutron spin rotation angle per unit length in 4He, dφ/dz = +2.1 ± 8.3 (stat.) +2.9 – 0.2(sys.) × 10–7 rad/m, is consistent with zero. The result agrees with the best current theoretical estimates of the size of nucleon-nucleon weak amplitudes from other experiments and with the expectations from recent theoretical approaches to weak nucleon-nucleon interactions. In this paper we review the theoretical status of parity violation in the n→ + 4He system and discuss details of the data analysis leading to the quoted result. Analysis tools are presented that quantify systematic uncertainties in this measurement and that are expected to be essential for future measurements.
Large experimental programmes in the fields of nuclear and particle physics search for evidence of physics beyond that explained by current theories. The observation of the Higgs boson completed the ...set of particles predicted by the standard model, which currently provides the best description of fundamental particles and forces. However, this theory's limitations include a failure to predict fundamental parameters, such as the mass of the Higgs boson, and the inability to account for dark matter and energy, gravity, and the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe, among other phenomena. These limitations have inspired searches for physics beyond the standard model in the post-Higgs era through the direct production of additional particles at high-energy accelerators, which have so far been unsuccessful. Examples include searches for supersymmetric particles, which connect bosons (integer-spin particles) with fermions (half-integer-spin particles), and for leptoquarks, which mix the fundamental quarks with leptons. Alternatively, indirect searches using precise measurements of well predicted standard-model observables allow highly targeted alternative tests for physics beyond the standard model because they can reach mass and energy scales beyond those directly accessible by today's high-energy accelerators. Such an indirect search aims to determine the weak charge of the proton, which defines the strength of the proton's interaction with other particles via the well known neutral electroweak force. Because parity symmetry (invariance under the spatial inversion (x, y, z) → (-x, -y, -z)) is violated only in the weak interaction, it provides a tool with which to isolate the weak interaction and thus to measure the proton's weak charge
. Here we report the value 0.0719 ± 0.0045, where the uncertainty is one standard deviation, derived from our measured parity-violating asymmetry in the scattering of polarized electrons on protons, which is -226.5 ± 9.3 parts per billion (the uncertainty is one standard deviation). Our value for the proton's weak charge is in excellent agreement with the standard model
and sets multi-teraelectronvolt-scale constraints on any semi-leptonic parity-violating physics not described within the standard model. Our results show that precision parity-violating measurements enable searches for physics beyond the standard model that can compete with direct searches at high-energy accelerators and, together with astronomical observations, can provide fertile approaches to probing higher mass scales.
We have studied spin observables in the three-body break-up reaction in deuteron–deuteron scattering in the phase-space regime that corresponds to the quasi-free deuteron–proton scattering process ...with the neutron as spectator. The data are compared to measurements of the elastic deuteron–proton scattering process and state-of-the-art Faddeev calculations. The results for iT11 and T22 for the quasi-free scattering data agree very well with previously published elastic-scattering data. A significant discrepancy is found for T20, which could point to a break-down of the quasi-free assumption.
A liquid helium target system was designed and built to perform a precision measurement of the parity-violating neutron spin rotation in helium due to the nucleon–nucleon weak interaction. The ...measurement employed a beam of low energy neutrons that passed through a crossed neutron polarizer–analyzer pair with the liquid helium target system located between them. Changes between the target states generated differences in the beam transmission through the polarizer–analyzer pair. The amount of parity-violating spin rotation was determined from the measured beam transmission asymmetries. The expected parity-violating spin rotation of order
10
-
6
rad
placed severe constraints on the target design. In particular, isolation of the parity-odd component of the spin rotation from a much larger background rotation caused by magnetic fields required that a nonmagnetic cryostat and target system be supported inside the magnetic shielding, while allowing nonmagnetic motion of liquid helium between separated target chambers. This paper provides a detailed description of the design, function, and performance of the liquid helium target system.
We present studies of single-spin asymmetries for neutral pion electroproduction in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of 5.776 GeV polarized electrons from an unpolarized hydrogen target, ...using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. A substantial sinϕh amplitude has been measured in the distribution of the cross section asymmetry as a function of the azimuthal angle ϕh of the produced neutral pion. The dependence of this amplitude on Bjorken x and on the pion transverse momentum is extracted with significantly higher precision than previous data and is compared to model calculations.
We have performed a novel comparison between electron-beam polarimeters based on Møller and Compton scattering. A sequence of electron-beam polarization measurements were performed at low beam ...currents (<5 μA) during the Qweak experiment in Hall-C at Jefferson Lab. These low current measurements were bracketed by the regular high current (180 μA) operation of the Compton polarimeter. All measurements were found to be consistent within experimental uncertainties of 1% or less, demonstrating that electron polarization does not depend significantly on the beam current. This result lends confidence to the common practice of applying Møller measurements made at low beam currents to physics experiments performed at higher beam currents. The agreement between two polarimetry techniques based on independent physical processes sets an important benchmark for future precision asymmetry measurements that require sub-1% precision in polarimetry.
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