PARITY VIOLATION IN THE HADRONIC WEAK INTERACTION

• Other Authors: Balascuta, Septimiu (Author)
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Nuclear physics; Particle physics; Physics; Aluminum; Chlorine; gamma rays; neutron capture; parity violation; Weak interaction
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.14801

abstract: This thesis deals with the first measurements done with a cold neutron beam at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The experimental technique consisted of capturing polarized cold neutrons by nuclei to measure parity-violation in the angular distribution of the gamma rays following neutron capture. The measurements presented here for the nuclei Chlorine ( 35Cl) and Aluminum ( 27Al ) are part of a program with the ultimate goal of measuring the asymmetry in the angular distribution of gamma rays emitted in the capture of neutrons on protons, with a precision better than 10-8, in order to extract the weak hadronic coupling constant due to pion exchange interaction with isospin change equal with one ( hπ 1). Based on theoretical calculations asymmetry in the angular distribution of the gamma rays from neutron capture on protons has an estimated size of 5·10-8. This implies that the Al parity violation asymmetry and its uncertainty have to be known with a precision smaller than 4·10-8. The proton target is liquid Hydrogen (H2) contained in an Aluminum vessel. Results are presented for parity violation and parity-conserving asymmetries in Chlorine and Aluminum. The systematic and statistical uncertainties in the calculation of the parity-violating and parity-conserving asymmetries are discussed. === Dissertation/Thesis === Ph.D. Physics 2012