The Ramsey Method - A versatile precision technique in neutron physics

by Dr Florian Piegsa (ETH Zürich)

Thursday 12 Dec 2013, 11:00 → 11:30 Europe/Berlin

Seminar room K017 (Universe)

Kurzvortrag im Rahmen einer Berufung In experimental neutron physics, Ramsey’s technique of separated oscillatory fields represents a highly sensitive method to investigate spin-dependent interactions of neutrons with magnetic and pseudomagnetic fields. In this talk, I will present the Nobel Prize winning method along with some of its distinct applications, ranging from fundamental particle physics and the search for new light exchange bosons to polarized neutron imaging of magnetic fields and samples. The technique is also employed in one of the flagship experiments in present-day low energy particle physics, namely the search for a neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM). A non-zero nEDM would violate CP-symmetry and could contribute to the understanding of the apparent matter-antimatter asymmetry in our universe. Recently, a concept has been developed to measure the nEDM by means of a pulsed neutron beam instead of the established use of storable ultracold neutrons. As an outlook, I will briefly describe this alternative approach which can lead to a competitive and complementary experiment.