[Hybrid] New approaches to science with ultracold neutrons: brighter sources and novel detectors

by Prof. Skyler Degenkolb (Universität Heidelberg)

Monday 7 Nov 2022, 14:30 → 15:30 Europe/Berlin

PH HS 3 (Physics Department)

Ultracold neutrons provide the opportunity to study neutron interactions over a period of many minutes, which is not possible for higher neutron energies. But this remarkable property comes at the cost of very low event rates, and very limited possibilities to select or measure the neutrons' energy and momentum. Nonetheless ultracold neutrons (or "UCN") have become an important tool in several specialized fields of particle physics, which over many years have pushed experimental techniques close to their conceptual limits at today's UCN sources. But with new sources and new possibilities to select and manipulate the properties of UCN these limits could be pushed further back, opening new possibilities for precision measurements or qualitatively new applications. I will present the state of the art for superthermal UCN production using superfluid helium, and discuss the possible avenues for near-future improvements. Novel detector concepts will also be discussed, highlighting the search for a permanent electric dipole moment of the neutron as a science case.