Speaker
Description
The HIBEAM/NNBAR program at the ESS will perform a high-sensitivity search for neutron oscillations with a potential to shed light on physics beyond the Standard Model. This program comprises two distinct phases: HIBEAM and NNBAR. HIBEAM will focus on the search for neutron-sterile neutron ($n$ - $n'$) oscillations, offering an opportunity to explore the physics of the dark sector, while the NNBAR experiment will search for neutron-antineutron ($n$ - $\bar{n}$) oscillations. The observation of neutron-antineutron oscillations that violate the conservation of B by two units would be a significant breakthrough. If such a process can occur in nature, it can reshape our understanding of baryogenesis in the early Universe.
NNBAR can improve the previous search with free neutrons conducted at ILL by a factor of 1000 by taking advantage of the intense beam of cold neutrons from the world’s most powerful spallation neutron source, the ESS, currently being built in Lund, Sweden. To achieve the proposed sensitivity, NNBAR will be equipped with a state-of-the-art annihilation detector composed of a tracking system, an electromagnetic calorimeter and a cosmic veto. Moreover, NNBAR will use highly efficient magnetic shielding, novel neutron reflectors and a new moderator for the ESS optimized to maximize the intensity of cold neutrons. A design study of these critical components to realize NNBAR is currently conducted within the HighNESS project financed by the European Framework for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020. In this talk, I will discuss all these critical aspects that will be part of the Conceptual Design Report of the experiment that will be published this fall.
| Collaboration / Activity | HighNESS consortium |
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