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Published June 2016 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

High-sensitivity measurement of ³He−⁴He isotopic ratios for ultracold neutron experiments

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Abstract

Research efforts ranging from studies of solid helium to searches for a neutron electric dipole moment require isotopically purified helium with a ratio of ³He to ⁴He at levels below that which can be measured using traditional mass spectroscopy techniques. We demonstrate an approach to such a measurement using accelerator mass spectroscopy, reaching the 10⁻¹⁴ level of sensitivity, several orders of magnitude more sensitive than other techniques. Measurements of ³He/⁴He in samples relevant to the measurement of the neutron lifetime indicate the need for substantial corrections. We also argue that there is a clear path forward to sensitivity increases of at least another order of magnitude.

Additional Information

© 2016 American Physical Society. (Received 10 February 2016; published 13 June 2016) We acknowledge the support of the NIST, U.S. Department of Commerce, in providing support for facilities used in this work. This work is also supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY-0855593 and by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Contracts No. DE-AC02-06CH11357 and No. DE-FG02-97ER41042. This research used resources of ANL's ATLAS facility, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

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Published - PhysRevC.93.065502.pdf

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PhysRevC.93.065502.pdf

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Identifiers

Eprint ID
67869
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20160613-103446787

Funding

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
NSF
PHY-0855593
Department of Energy (DOE)
DE-AC02-06CH11357
Department of Energy (DOE)
DE-FG02-97ER41042

Dates

Created
2016-06-13
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2023-03-02
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