Design and characterization of zero magnetic field chambers for high efficiency neutron polarization transport

Abstract

Several methods of polarized neutron scattering call for a zero magnetic field region to reduce magnetic field integral aberrations while preserving the neutron polarization. Though the design for large angle neutron scattering has been presented in various places, the design characterization and tuning has not been discussed before. In this report, the tuning procedure will be discussed with both neutron polarization transport and utilization of fluxgate magnetometers. As a tuning procedure, polarized neutrons are sensitive to any local field distortions along all trajectories within the beam, but the process is slow. With fluxgates, the entire region cannot be tested, but very fast and precise measurements can be made in accessible regions of interest. Consequently, we would like to benchmark the usage of fluxgates as a fast tuning probe compared with polarization measurements made with neutrons. Polarization transport results for tuned ZF chambers, up to 2.25 m in length, are presented.