Measurements of ultracold-neutron lifetimes in solid deuterium

Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Dec 30;89(27):272501. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.272501. Epub 2002 Dec 18.

Abstract

We present the first measurements of the survival time of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) in solid deuterium (SD2). This critical parameter provides a fundamental limitation to the effectiveness of superthermal UCN sources that utilize solid ortho-deuterium as the source material. These measurements are performed utilizing a SD2 source coupled to a spallation source of neutrons, providing a demonstration of UCN production in this geometry and permitting systematic studies of the influence of thermal up-scatter and contamination with para-deuterium on the UCN survival time.