Engineering topics

O’Malley, P. D.

Publications and source records attributed to O’Malley, P. D..

5 records

DOE OSTI2024

The Beta-decay Paul Trap Mk IV: Design and commissioning

Here, the Beta-decay Paul Trap is an open-geometry, linear trap used to measure the decays of 8 Li and 8 B to search for a tensor contribution to the weak interaction. In the latest 8 Li measurement of Burkey et al. (2022), β scattering was the dominant experimental systematic uncertainty. The Beta-decay Paul Trap Mk IV reduces the prevalence of β scattering by a factor of 4 through a redesigned electrode geometry and the use of glassy carbon and graphite as electrode materials. The trap has been constructed and successfully commissioned with 8 Li in a new data campaign that collected 2.6 million triple coincidence events, an increase in statistics by 30% with 4 times less β scattering compared to the previous 8 Li data set.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

On-line installation of the Superallowed Transition Beta-Neutrino Decay Ion Coincidence Trap

The Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark mixing matrix currently does not satisfy unitarity at the 2σ-level. This could be the result of an inaccurate value of one or both of its largest matrix elements V us and V ud . In the case of V ud , the most precise measurement is obtained from the f t -value measurements of superallowed beta-transitions between 0 + states. The accuracy of this determination can, in turn, be tested by extracting V ud in other transitions including superallowed transitions between mirror nuclei. The Superallowed Transition Beta-Neutrino Decay Ion Coincidence Trap (St. Benedict) is currently under construction at the Nuclear Science Laboratory of the University of Notre Dame to perform such a determination, with the goal of shedding more light on this tension with unitarity. St. Benedict will take a radioactive ion beam produced by TwinSol , thermalize it in a large volume gas catcher, then transport it in two separate differentially-pumped volumes using a radio-frequency (RF) carpet and a radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) ion guide before injecting it in an RFQ trap to create cool ion bunches for injection in the measurement Paul trap. In this paper, we detail the installation of the beam preparation components of St. Benedict, and present the results of the first RIBs successfully stopped and extracted from its gas catcher.

Brodeur, M.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Proton branching ratios in 22 Mg for X-ray bursts

Here, decay protons from 22 Mg energy levels populated through a previously reported 24 Mg(p, t) 22 Mg transfer reaction (Chae et al. in Phys Rev C 79:055804, 2009) have been analyzed for proton branching ratios as a follow-up analysis. The measurement was performed at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility of Oak Ridge National Laboratory by utilizing 41-MeV proton beams and 24 Mg solid targets. Decay protons and reaction tritons were simultaneously detected with a silicon detector array. By investigating the 24 Mg(p, t) 22 Mg*(p) 21 Na channels, the proton branching ratios of five 22 Mg excited states were obtained. The measured branching ratios provide constraints on the proton partial widths of the populated 22 Mg levels, which have implications for X-ray burst nucleosynthesis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

First Direct Measurement Constraining the Ar 34 ( α , p ) K 37 Reaction Cross Section for Mixed Hydrogen and Helium Burning in Accreting Neutron Stars

The rate of the final step in the astrophysical αp process, the 34 Ar(α,p) 37 K reaction, suffers from large uncertainties due to a lack of experimental data, despite having a considerable impact on the observable light curves of x-ray bursts and the composition of the ashes of hydrogen and helium burning on accreting neutron stars. Here, we present the first direct measurement constraining the 34Ar(α,p)37K reaction cross section, using the Jet Experiments in Nuclear Structure and Astrophysics gas jet target. The combined cross section for the 34 Ar,Cl(α,p) 37 K,Ar reaction is found to agree well with Hauser-Feshbach predictions. The 34 Ar(α,2p) 36 Ar cross section, which can be exclusively attributed to the 34 Ar beam component, also agrees to within the typical uncertainties quoted for statistical models. This indicates the applicability of the statistical model for predicting astrophysical (α,p) reaction rates in this part of the αp process, in contrast to earlier findings from indirect reaction studies indicating orders-of-magnitude discrepancies. This removes a significant uncertainty in models of hydrogen and helium burning on accreting neutron stars.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Construction of St. Benedict

The Superallowed Transition Beta-Neutrino Decay Ion Coincidence Trap (St. Benedict) is currently under construction at the University of Notre Dame Nuclear Science Laboratory. It is designed to measure the beta-neutrino angular correlation parameter in superallowed mixed beta-decay transitions between mirror nuclei in order to extract the Fermi-to-Gamow Teller mixing ratio and test theoretical corrections entering in the determination of the V ud element of the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa quark mixing matrix. St. Benedict includes a large volume gas catcher to thermalize the radioactive ion beam from TwinSol, a differentially-pumped extraction system, a radiofrequency quadrupole ion cooler and buncher, and a Paul trap for the observation and detection of the β decay products. Finally, the status of each of these components will be presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗