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A discovery of the neutron's permanent electric dipole moment larger than the standard model prediction of dn ≈ 10-31 e·cm would signal a new source of CP-violation and help explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. Tightening the limits on dn constrain extensions to the standard model in a complementary fashion to the atomic and electron EDM searches. The recent upgrade of the Los Alamos ultracold neutron source makes it possible for a new room temperature search with the statistical reach to improve upon current limits by a factor of 10 or more. During the 2018 LANSCE cycle a prototype apparatus was used to demonstrate the capability to transport and manipulate polarized neutrons and perform Ramsey and Rabi sequence measurements. I will report on the measurements made over the last year, efforts underway to upgrade the prototype chamber, and possible future upgrades of the ultracold neutron source.

abstract: Seeking an upper limit of the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) is a test of charge-parity (CP) violation beyond the Standard Model. The present experimentally tested nEDM upper limit is 3x10^(26) e cm. An experiment to be performed at the Oak Ridge National Lab Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) facility seeks to reach the 3x10^(28) e cm limit. The experiment is designed to probe for a dependence of the neutron's Larmor precession frequency on an applied electric eld. The experiment will use polarized helium-3 (3He) as a comagnetometer, polarization analyzer, and detector. Systematic influences on the nEDM measurement investigated in this thesis include (a) room temperature measurements on polarized 3He in a measurement cell made from the same materials as the nEDM experiment, (b) research and development of the Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUID) which will be used in the nEDM experiment, (c) design contributions for an experiment with nearly all the same conditions as will be present in the nEDM experiment, and (d) scintillation studies in superfluid helium II generated from alpha particles which are fundamentally similar to the nEDM scintillation process. The result of this work are steps toward achievement of a new upper limit for the nEDM experiment at the SNS facility. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physics 2019

A new neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) experiment was proposed to be commissioned at the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The underlying theme of this experiment (first conceived by Golub and Lamoreaux in 1994) is the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. The discovery of a non-zero nEDM would be of revolutionary importance to physics, with the discovery of such providing for evidence for new-beyond-the-Standard-Model physics required for a resolution to the unresolved puzzle of why the universe is dominated by matter, as opposed to anti-matter. A first demonstration of a new magnetic field monitoring system for a neutron electric dipole moment experiment is presented. The system is designed to reconstruct the vector components of the magnetic field in the interior measurement region solely from exterior measurements. The results highlight the potential for the implementation of an improved system in an upcoming neutron electric dipole moment experiment to be carried out at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Un moment dipolaire électrique permanent (EDM) est une propriété fondamentale des systèmes simples comme par exemple l'électron, les atomes/molécules ou le neutron dont l'existence est prédite par le Modèle Standard de la physique des particules (MS) mais qui n'a pas pour l'heure jamais été observée. Cette observable violant la symétrie CP offre la possibilité de relier la physique des particules à l'énigme cosmologique fondamentale de l'asymétrie baryonique de l'Univers observée de nos jours. Produire une telle asymétrie requiert de nouvelles sources/de nouveaux mécanismes de violation de CP, hors MS, qui peuvent être sondés de façon privilégiée par les recherches d'EDM. La sensibilité des expériences EDM actuelles se trouve des ordres de grandeurs au-dessus des prédictions du secteur faible du MS. L'absence de signal, après 60 ans de quête, détermine la limite supérieure la plus forte sur la violation de CP dans le secteur fort du MS et contraint l'espace des phases des modèles de nouvelle physique. A contrario, la mesure d'un EDM non nul dans les années à venir pourra s'interpréter comme le signal d'une physique au-delà du MS évoluant à l'échelle multi-TeV. Dans cette perspective envoûtante, de nombreux nouveaux projets de mesures des EDM ont vu le jour ces dernières années et d'importants efforts sont poursuivis auprès du neutron notamment. Ce manuscrit présente la recherche de l'EDM du neutron menée auprès de l'expérience la plus sensible à ce jour basée à l'Institut Paul Scherrer en Suisse. / A permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) is a fundamental property of simple systems such as the electron, atoms/molecules or the neutron whose amplitude is expected to be non-zero within the Standard Model of particles physics (SM) but which has never been observed so far. This observable violating the CP symmetry offers the opportunity to link particle physics to the fundamental cosmological enigma of the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. Such an asymmetry requires new CP violation sources/mechanism beyond the SM, which can be best probed by EDM searches. The current EDM experiments sensitivity is order of magnitude above the weak SM sector predictions. Measuring a null EDM, after a 60 years quest, set the strongest upper limit on the CP violation in the strong SM sector and constrains the new physics models phase space. On the contrary, measuring a non-zero EDM in the coming years can be understood as a signal from physics beyond the SM evolving at a multi-TeV scale. In this haunting perspective, many new EDM projects raised in the last years and important efforts are pursued near the neutron in particular. This manuscript present the neutron EDM search near the most sensitive experiment running at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.

The observed imbalance of matter and anti-matter in the universe is one of physics' most fundamental unresolved questions. The leading theories to explain this imbalance require CP violation, and the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) is a sensitive parameter in its determination. Many new theories of physics beyond the standard model can be constrained or ruled-out by setting limits on the nEDM. Many next generation nEDM experiments require Ultra Cold Neutrons (UCN), produced in superfluid helium. One such experiment is cryoEDM. This thesis explores various types of UCN detection technologies applicable to cryoEDM or any high-density high-efficiency cryogenic nEDM experiment. Cryogenic Phonon Scintillation detectors (CPSD) are modified for this application by operating at 500 mK, and by using a titanium transition edge sensor for phonon signal readout. A CPSD is stabilised in the transition using a novel infra-red light feedback system which reduced the response time to O</m>(100 &mu;s). The detector is characterised and calibrated using an ²⁴¹Am &alpha; source. It was found to operate reliably at this elevated temperature and measure an alpha spectrum with 11% resolution at 5.5 MeV. Scintillators are identified as a promising technology for UCN detection at low temperature. Suitable materials that are bright with fast decay times and low &gamma; sensitivity are studied in the temperature range 300 - 6 K. Their light yield to alpha excitation, their decay time characteristics and spectroscopic properties under VUV excitation are investigated. This study includes the first comprehensive investigation of the luminescence properties of plastic scintillators and of ⁶LiF/ZnS(Ag) down to 6 K. It is found that there is no degradation of the luminescence or kinetic properties of these materials across the whole temperature range, revealing them as suitable cryogenic detector materials. Using a plastic scintillator, a prototype UCN detector for operation in liquid helium is designed, manufactured and tested. It is read out using WLS optical fibres to a room temperature photomultiplier. The detector is successfully tested with cold neutrons at the ISIS neutron science facility and found to effectively measure neutrons, with a signal that is clear from background. Recommendations are made for its integration into a cryogenic neutron EDM experiment. This low-cost detector offers a promising method for the passive detection of UCN in a challenging cryogenic environment, with minimal electric interference and low background sensitivity. This technology offers the potential for improved UCN detection efficiency and thus improved sensitivity of the measurement of the neutron EDM.