0000000000124101
AUTHOR
Valery Nesvizhevsky
showing 14 related works from this author
Accumulation of positrons from a LINAC based source
2020
International audience; The GBAR experiment aims to measure the gravitational acceleration of antihydrogen H̅. It will use H̅+ ions formed by the interaction of antiprotons with a dense positronium cloud, which will require about 1010 positrons to produce one H̅+. We present the first results on the positron accumulation, reaching 3.8±0.4×108 e+ collected in 560 s.
A measurement of the antineutrino asymmetry B in free neutron decay
2005
Abstract We have measured the antineutrino asymmetry B in neutron beta decay, i.e., the correlation of the neutron spin and the antineutrino momentum, with a new method. Our result is B = 0.967 ± 0.006 stat ± 0.010 syst = 0.967 ± 0.012 . Statistical and systematic uncertainty can be considerably reduced in future experiments.
Quantum motion of a neutron in a wave-guide in the gravitational field
2006
We study theoretically the quantum motion of a neutron in a horizontal waveguide in the gravitational field of the Earth. The waveguide in question is equipped with a mirror below and a rough surface absorber above. We show that such a system acts as a quantum filter, i.e. it effectively absorbs quantum states with sufficiently high transversal energy but transmits low-energy states. The states transmitted are determined mainly by the potential well formed by the gravitational field of the Earth and the mirror. The formalism developed for quantum motion in an absorbing waveguide is applied to the description of the recent experiment on the observation of the quantum states of neutrons in th…
A pulsed high-voltage decelerator system to deliver low-energy antiprotons
2021
International audience; The GBAR (Gravitational Behavior of Antihydrogen at Rest) experiment at CERN requires efficient deceleration of 100 keV antiprotons provided by the new ELENA synchrotron ring to synthesize antihydrogen. This is accomplished using electrostatic deceleration optics and a drift tube that is designed to switch from -99 kV to ground when the antiproton bunch is inside – essentially a charged particle “elevator” – producing a 1 keV pulse. We describe the simulation, design, construction and successful testing of the decelerator device at -92 kV on-line with antiprotons from ELENA.
Short-range fundamental forces
2011
Abstract We consider theoretical motivations to search for extra short-range fundamental forces as well as experiments constraining their parameters. The forces could be of two types: 1) spin-independent forces; 2) spin-dependent axion-like forces. Different experimental techniques are sensitive in respective ranges of characteristic distances. The techniques include measurements of gravity at short distances, searches for extra interactions on top of the Casimir force, precision atomic and neutron experiments. We focus on neutron constraints, thus the range of characteristic distances considered here corresponds to the range accessible for neutron experiments.
Constraint on the coupling of axionlike particles to matter via ultracold neutron gravitational experiment
2006
We present a new constraint for the axion monopole-dipole coupling in the range of 1 micrometer to a few millimeters, previously unavailable for experimental study. The constraint was obtained using our recent results on the observation of neutron quantum states in the Earth's gravitational field. We exploit the ultimate sensitivity of ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) in the lowest gravitational states above a material surface to any additional interaction between the UCN and the matter, if the characteristic interaction range is within the mentioned domain. In particular, we find that the upper limit for the axion monopole-dipole coupling constant is (g_p g_s)/(\hbar c)<2 x 10^{-15} for the ax…
Positron production using a 9 MeV electron linac for the GBAR experiment
2020
For the GBAR (Gravitational Behaviour of Antihydrogen at Rest) experiment at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator (AD) facility we have constructed a source of slow positrons, which uses a low-energy electron linear accelerator (linac). The driver linac produces electrons of 9 MeV kinetic energy that create positrons from bremsstrahlung-induced pair production. Staying below 10 MeV ensures no persistent radioactive activation in the target zone and that the radiation level outside the biological shield is safe for public access. An annealed tungsten-mesh assembly placed directly behind the target acts as a positron moderator. The system produces $5\times10^7$ slow positrons per second, a performan…
Particular features of ternary fission induced by polarized neutrons in the major actinidesU233,235andPu239,241
2016
Ternary fission in $(n,f)$ reactions was studied with polarized neutrons for the isotopes $^{233,235}\mathrm{U}$ and $^{239,241}\mathrm{Pu}$. A cold longitudinally polarized neutron beam was available at the High Flux Reactor of the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France. The beam was hitting the fissile targets mounted at the center of a reaction chamber. Detectors for fission fragments and ternary particles were installed in a plane perpendicular to the beam. In earlier work it was discovered that the angular correlations between neutron spin and the momenta of fragments and ternary particles were very different for $^{233}\mathrm{U}$ or $^{235}\mathrm{U}$. These correlations could no…
An optical device for ultra-cold neutrons - Investigation of systematic effects and applications
2010
We developed an optical device for ultra-cold neutrons and investigated the influence of a tilt of its guiding components. A measurement of the time-of-flight of the neutrons through the device by means of a dedicated chopper system was performed and a light-optical method for the alignment of the guiding components is demonstrated. A comparative analysis of former experiments with our results shows the potential of such a device to test the electrical neutrality of the free neutron on the $10^{-22} q_{\rm e}$ level and to investigate the interaction of neutrons with gravity.
QUATERNARY FISSION
2003
Quaternary fission is a nuclear reaction where the two customary fragments from fission are accompanied by two light charged particles. The process has been investigated at the ILL, Grenoble, for thermal neutron induced fission of 233U and 235U. The light particles were identified to be α particles and H isotopes (mostly tritons). Two different types of processes could be disentangled: in one of these processes all four charged particles are born in coincidence while the second process is in fact merely a special case of ternary fission where the ternary particle decays into two charged particles before reaching the detectors.
Development of a PbWO 4 detector for single-shot positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy at the GBAR experiment
2020
International audience; We have developed a PbWO 4 (PWO) detector with a large dynamic range to measure the intensity of a positron beam and the absolute density of the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) cloud it creates. A simulation study shows that a setup based on such detectors may be used to determine the angular distribution of the emission and reflection of o-Ps to reduce part of the uncertainties of the measurement. These will allow to improve the precision in the measurement of the cross section for the (anti) hydrogen formation by (anti) proton-positronium charge exchange and to optimize the yield of antihydrogen ion which is an essential parameter in the GBAR experiment.
Reply to Comment on Measurement of quantum states of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field
2003
Physical review / D 68(10), 108702 (2003). doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.68.108702
Measurement of quantum states of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field
2003
The lowest stationary quantum state of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field is identified in the measurement of neutron transmission between a horizontal mirror on the bottom and an absorber/scatterer on top. Such an assembly is not transparent for neutrons if the absorber height is smaller than the ``height'' of the lowest quantum state.
CORRELATIONS IN TERNARY FISSION
2000
An experiment investigating correlations in ternary fission of233U induced by cold polarized neutrons was performed at the high flux reactor of the ILL in Grenoble (France). With the experimental setup, Left—Right and time reversal symmetry violating and conserving correlations between neutron spin\(\hat \sigma \), neutron momentum\(\hat p_n \), momenta of fission fragments\(\hat p_f \) and ternary particles\(\hat p_t \) could be investigated.