Measurement of the Neutron Lifetime by Counting Trapped Protons.
We measured the neutron decay lifetime by counting in-beam neutron decay recoil protons trapped in a quasi-Penning trap. The absolute neutron beam fluence was measured by capture in a thin (6)LiF foil detector with known efficiency. The combination of these measurements gives the neutron lifetime: τ n = (886.8 ± 1.2 ± 3.2) s, where the first (second) uncertainty is statistical (systematic) in nature. This is the most precise neutron lifetime determination to date using an in-beam method.
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118.
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FE
Wietfeldt
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
M S
MS
Dewey
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
D M
DM
Gilliam
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
J S
JS
Nico
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47408.
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X
Fei
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47408.
W M
WM
Snow
University of Tennessee/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Knoxville, TN 37996.
G L
GL
Greene
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
J
J
Pauwels
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
R
R
Eykens
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
A
A
Lamberty
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
J
J
Van Gestel
neutron lifetime; trapped protons