Speaker
Description
Khafizov R. U. a, Kolesnikov I.A. a, Nikolenko M.V. a, Tarnovitsky S.A. a, Tolokonnikov S. V. a, Torokhov V.D. a, Trifonov G.M. a, Solovei V.A. a, Kolkhidashvili M.R. a, Konorov I.V. b
a NRC «Kurchatov Institute», Russia, khafizov_ru@nrcki.ru
b Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
The report considers the time spectra of double and triple coincidences of the neutron radiation decay products - electron, recoil proton, and γ-ray. The peak in the spectrum of triple coincidences is used to identify neutron radiative decay events. However, there is an effect that competes with the sought-after neutron radiative decay effect, which is the emission of γ-quanta caused by β- decay electrons in the residual chamber atmosphere. This phenomenon can be observed in the form of polar lights caused also by ionization of the air at the edge of the atmosphere, the density of which is comparable to the density of the residual gas in the experimental chamber. Both radiative neutron decay and γ-quanta produced by the ionization should give comparable two peaks on the spectrum of triple coincidences. However, whereas the radiative γ-quanta are formed at the moment of decay, the γ-quanta emitted by the inertial process of ionization of the rarefied atmosphere molecules should be delayed on 1 μs, which we have found on the spectrum of triple coincidences. The value of one time channel was 25 ns, which allow separating the two peaks from each other and excluding their mutual influence. This allowed us to identify radiative decay events and to measure for the first time the relative intensity of neutron radiative decay B.R. = (3.2±1.6)10-3 (where C.L. = 99.7% and γ-energy more 35 Kev) [1]. But the Standard Model calculations give a one-and-a-half times smaller value B.R.=2.1-10-3 [2], thus we have registered additional γ-quanta, which are structural γ-quanta emitted by the neutron structure. It follows from the above that at registration of only double coincidences of an electron and a γ-quantum only one peak of the “polar light” will appear, and the radiative peak of triple coincidences of an electron, a γ-quantum and a recoil proton will merge with fluctuations of the background since it appears only when the third particle - a recoil proton - is also registered. The spectrum of double e-γ coincidences with a single “polar light” peak is presented in articles [3, 4], and authors positioned this peak not after but before electron registration.The placement of the peak looks extremely ridiculous because for 1 µs gamma-quantum passes several hundred metres, whereas the size of their entire experimental setup is only 0.5 meters, and for this peak there is simply no room to emerge from!
[1] R.U. Khafizov et al. JETP Letters, v. 83(1), 2006, p. 5
[2] Yu.V. Gaponov, R.U.Khafizov, Phys.Lett. B379 (1996), p. 7
[3] J.S. Nico, et al., Nature v. 444, 2006, p.1059
[4] R.L. Cooper, et al., Phys. Rev. C v. 81, 2010, p.035503; M. J. Bales, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 2016. p. 242501
