Date Available

5-12-2023

Year of Publication

2023

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

Physics and Astronomy

First Advisor

Dr. Bradley Plaster

Second Advisor

Dr. Joseph Straley

Abstract

The measurement of the permanent electric dipole moment of the neutron (nEDM) plays a significant role in searching for sources of beyond standard model CP violating physics. The goal of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) nEDM experiment is to push the upper limit of the nEDM to < 3 × 10−27 e·cm (68 % CL). A highly uniform magnetic field is key to achieving this sensitivity for the nEDM measurement by reducing the systematic uncertainties associated with the magnetic field non-uniformity. The B0 coil was designed to achieve a field uniformity of < 0.3 nT·m−1 at a nominal holding field of 1 µT. This document will outline a novel technique employed in the construction of the B0 coil using printed circuit boards (PCBs) and will present preliminary field maps obtained with the B0 coil housed in a magnetically shielded room (MSR) at LANL.

As Ultra Cold Neutrons (UCNs) move from the source to the measurement cells, the UCNs experience a large magnetic field gradient in the region between the layers of the MSR. This large gradient would otherwise cause depolarization of the UCNs. To mitigate this, a double cos θ coil will serve as the basis for spin transport coils, whose magnetic field design is tailored to minimize the depolarization of the UCNs. This document will discuss the implementation of these spin transport coils, including a design to match their field with the B0 coil field in such a way which minimizes leakage field gradients into the neutron storage cell volumes.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2023.225

Funding Information

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Award Number DE-SC0014622, the NSF under Award Number PHY-1828568, and by the LANL LDRD program.

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Nuclear Commons

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