<p> The NPDGamma Experiment is measuring the parity-violating correlation A<sub>γ</sub> between neutron spin and gamma momentum in the radiative capture of a polarized cold neutron beam on a cryogenic liquid parahydrogen target. This measurement is expected to give insight into theories that incorporate the weak interaction into what is primarily a strongly interacting system. This dissertation discusses the operation and characterization of the liquid hydrogen target, including the calibration of the instrumentation that monitors the state of the hydrogen. An important consideration is the fact that for safety reasons the instrumentation in direct contact with the hydrogen is limited, and so a detailed understanding of the target design and of the properties of hydrogen is required in order to interpret the state of the system. For this experiment, it is essential that the hydrogen be kept mostly in the para state in order to prevent the beam from being significantly depolarized before capture. Since the uncatalyzed conversion rate is slow, an ortho-para conversion loop is used to promote conversion from the room temperature orthohydrogen fraction to the fraction associated with the temperatures of the cryogenic vessel. In addition to the calibration and characterization studies, a method is introduced for placing an empirical limit on the deviation of the orthohydrogen fraction inside the vessel from the desired level associated with the temperature of the ortho-para conversion catalyst and vessel. This method, which does not require precise knowledge of the parahydrogen cross section, involves observing the transmission of the beam through the target while the rate of flow of hydrogen through the ortho-para conversion loop is changed. In addition to the studies of the hydrogen target, this dissertation discusses a calibration of some <sup>3</sup>He ion chambers that monitor the flux of the neutron beam and that are used to perform beam transmission measurements. This calibration, which involves a study of the noise inherent in the signal due to neutron capture, does not involve comparison to a separate calibrated detector.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3608080 |
| Date | 14 February 2014 |
| Creators | Gillis, Robert Chat |
| Publisher | Indiana University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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