The neutron is the simplest nuclear system that can be used to probe the structure of the weak interaction and search for physics Beyond the Standard Model. Measurements of neutron b-decay observables are sensitive to scalar and tensor interactions in the weak force which are not present in the Standard Model.  The lifetime of the neutron t_n is an important parameter for Big-Bang Nucleo-synthesis models, solar fusion models, neutron star cooling, and absolute neutrino scattering cross-sections, and can be used to test the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark mixing matrix.  Presently, the two typical methods used to measure the neutron lifetime, cold neutron beam measurements and stored ultracold neutron (UCN) measurements, disagree by roughly 4 sigma. This discrepancy motivates the need for new measurements with complementary systematic uncertainties to previous efforts.  

 

The UCNt experiment uses an asymmetric magneto-gravitational UCN trap with in situ counting of surviving neutrons to measure the neutron lifetime.  Previous bottle experiments confined UCN in a material storage vessel creating a significant correction due to losses resulting from the material UCN interactions.  The magnetic and gravitational confinement of the UCN minimizes losses due to material interactions.  Additionally, UCNt uses a detection system that is lowered into the storage volume which avoids emptying the surviving UCN into an external detector.  This minimizes any possible transport related systematics.  This in situ detector also enables counting at various heights in the vessel, which provides information on the trapped UCN energy spectrum, quasi-bound orbits, and possible phase space evolution.  I will present the physics motivation for precision neutron physics, a description of the UCNt experiment, the results of data collected during the 2016-2017 accelerator cycle which resulted in a value of τ_n=877.7±(0.7) stat (+0.3/−0.1) sys in agreement with previous material bottle UCN storage experiments, and the path toward a 0.1 s measurement of t_n.