A Backscatter-Suppressed Beta Spectrometer

Published

June 16, 2017

Author(s)

Maynard S. Dewey, Taufique Hassan, Fred B. Bateman, Brian Collett, Guillaume Darius, Christina DeAngelis, Gordon L. Jones, Alexander Komives, Alexander Laptev, Michael Mendenhall, Jeffrey S. Nico, George Noid, Ed Stephenson, Fred Wietfeldt, Isaac Stern, Bob Trull

Abstract

Backscatter of electrons from a beta spectrometer, with incomplete energy deposition, can lead to undesirable effects in many types of experiments. We present and discuss the design and operation of a backscatter-suppressed beta spectrometer that was developed as part of a program to measure the electron antineutrino correlation coefficient in neutron beta decay (aCORN). An array of backscatter veto detectors surround a plastic scintillator beta energy detector. The spectrometer contains an axial magnetic field gradient, so electrons are efficiently admitted but have a low probability for escaping back through the entrance after backscattering. The design, construction, calibration, and performance of the spectrometer are discussed.

Citation

Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research A

Volume

867

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

electron spectroscopy, scintillation detectors, conversion electrons, neutron decay, electron backscatter

Citation

Dewey, M. , Hassan, T. , Bateman, F. , Collett, B. , Darius, G. , DeAngelis, C. , Jones, G. , Komives, A. , Laptev, A. , Mendenhall, M. , Nico, J. , Noid, G. , Stephenson, E. , Wietfeldt, F. , Stern, I. and Trull, B. (2017), A Backscatter-Suppressed Beta Spectrometer, Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research A (Accessed April 24, 2024)