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Precision Nuclear Physics with Microwaves: the $^{6}He$-CRES experiment
Presented By: Brent Graner / bgraner@uw.edu / https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-graner-811908123/
My scientific career began in the lab of Z.T. Lu while pursuing an A.B. degree at the University of Chicago, where I developed my research interests at the intersection of fundamental physics and precision measurement. I did my Ph.D. work on the electric dipole moment (EDM) of $^{199}$Hg in the lab of Blayne Heckel at the University of Washington, culminating in the publication of the present best limit on the EDM of any particle or atomic system (Graner et. al., PRL 161601 2016). Following my doctoral work, I chose to develop more experience in building a modern nuclear physics experiment \textit{ab initio}, becoming the first person to work full-time on the novel cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy (CRES) experiment at the UW CENPA. Dedicated to a precision measurement of the beta-decay spectra in $^6$He and $^{19}$Ne, the $^6$HeCRES experiment has been designed and built by myself and others at CENPA in the last four years, recording its' first cyclotron radiation signals from individual electrons amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021.
Abstract
The $^6$He-CRES experiment at the University of Washington CENPA aims to precisely measure beta spectra of $^6$He, $^{14}$O, and $^{19}$Ne to search for exotic currents in the weak interaction, representing a violation of SM physics. Typical techniques, such as calorimetry using semiconductor detectors or scintillators, or magnetic spectrometry, present limitations due to systematic uncertainties. The $^6$He-CRES experiment is based on Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES), a technique developed by the Project8 collaboration to improve sensitivity to the neutrino mass in Tritium decay. The basic idea is a determination of the beta energy by measuring the cyclotron frequency of betas in a magnetic field. The $^6$He-CRES collaboration is working on applying the CRES technique to determine beta spectra up to several MeV, with a method that could be applied to a wide variety of nuclei at FRIB. The talk would present an overview of the apparatus and analysis tools and show the first recently-accomplished measurements with a bandwidth approximately 4 times that shown previously by Project8, confirming the viability of the method for nuclei with higher beta endpoints. Download AbstractHosted By
Texas A&M University