Neutron-Antineutron Oscillation and Annihilation on C-12 at the European Spallation Source

POSTER

Abstract

In the Standard Model, baryon and lepton number (B, L) are conserved. However, Sakharov showed that in the early universe violation of B was a requirement to explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry. One type of B violation being focused on at the ESS is that of neutron-antineutron oscillation (n---\~{n}), a $\Delta $B $=$ 2 process, thus showing that baryon number is not conserved. The ESS aims to search for n---\~{n} at a soon to be constructed, high-intensity neutron beamline. There, if n---\~{n} occurs, the neutron will travel down the beamline, oscillate into an antineutron, and hit a target of carbon nanofoil; this is similar to a previous search at the ILL in Grenoble. On this nanofoil, annihilation to mesons would occur with individual carbon nuclei, those mesons being collected on a high-resolution detector. Currently, MC data generation and analysis is underway for the ESS collaboration with the aid of E. Golubeva, hoping to properly model the appropriate nuclear interactions. For purposes of validation and verification, this work provides a detailed overview of antinucleon-nucleon annihilation properties. It is important to study such generated data in order to make more definite predictions of the efficiency for the detection of n---\~{n}.

Authors

  • Charles Ladd

    The University of Tennessee

  • Yuri Kamyshkov

    The University of Tennessee

  • Ben Rybolt

    The University of Tennessee

  • Joshua Barrow

    The University of Tennessee

  • S.S. Gupta

    Department of Applied Mathematics & Sciences, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, UAE, Physics Department, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49006, USA, National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Nangal Road, Rupnagar (Ropar), Punjab 140 001, India, The Institute for Nuclear Research, Moscow, Davidson Coll, Western kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101, Naval Postgraduate School, Austin Peay State University, Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of Nebraska, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, University of West Georgia, Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Northwestern Univ, Univ of Virginia, Western Kentucky University, Physics Dept. Bowling Green, KY, Department of Physics, The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, TX 78539, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101, Western Kentucky University, School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom, Austin Peay State Univ, University of Pardubice, Clemson University, Appalachian State Univ, Department of Physics, University of West Georgia, Department of Geosciences, University of West Georgia, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, Francis Marion University, The Pennsylvania State University, Auburn University, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Department of Physics, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Rexburg, Idaho, Department of Physics,North Carolina State University, William Mong Institute of Nano Science and Technology, MSTD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Univ of Bristol, University of Alabama in Birmingham, Georgia Institute of Technology, Sandia National Laboratories, University of South Florida