Pulsed ultra-cold neutron production using a Doppler shifter at J-PARC

Abstract

We have constructed a Doppler-shifter-type pulsed ultra-cold neutron (UCN) source at the Materials and Life Science Experiment Facility of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex. Very cold neutrons (VCNs) with 136 m s[−1] velocity in a neutron beam supplied by a pulsed neutron source are decelerated by reflection on an m=10 wide-band multilayer mirror, yielding pulsed UCNs. The mirror is fixed to the tip of a 2000 rpm rotating arm moving with 68 m s[−1] velocity in the same direction as the VCNs. The repetition frequency of the pulsed UCNs is 8.33 Hz and the time width of the pulse at production is 4.4 ms. In order to increase the UCN flux, a supermirror guide, wide-band monochromatic mirrors, focus guides, and a UCN extraction guide have been newly installed or improved. The 1 MW-equivalent count rate of the output neutrons with longitudinal wavelengths longer than 58 nm is 1.6×10[2] cps, while that of the true UCNs is 80 cps. The spatial density at production is 1.4 UCN cm[−3]. This new UCN source enables us to research and develop apparatuses necessary for the investigation of the neutron electric dipole moment.