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UCN

The Project

 The project is a collaboration of groups from Canada and Japan. Our goal is to provide the world's highest density of ultra-cold neutrons.

 

The Ultra Cold Neutron Source

The source is a "Spallation Superthermal" UCN source. A beam of protons is stopped in a block on tungsten, producing fast neutrons that are slowed in moderators then reduced to ultra cold speeds by phonon scattering in superfluid helium.

 

The Experiments

The best experiments for ultra-cold neutrons exploit the fact that they can be stored and observed for up to hundreds of seconds.
There are many such experiments, but the one we will mount first is a measurement of the neutron electric dipole moment.

 

New UCN beamlineModifications to the M13 area: A new 1U proton beamline (blue) branches off to the North of the existing 1A beamline (pink). Up to one-third of the beam current can be spit off from 1A. The 1U proton beam hits a tungsten spallation target. Fast neutrons from the target are slowed to ultra-cold speeds (<8 m/s) and directed to the UCN experimental area. This drawing shows the proposed neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM)experiment of the floor in the UCN experimental area.