An experiment for the precision measurement of the radiative decay mode of the neutron

The familiar neutron decay into a proton, electron, and antineutrino can be accompanied by photons with sufficient energy to be detected. We recently reported the first observation of the radiative beta decay branch for the free neutron with photons of energy 15–340 keV. We performed the experiment in the bore of a superconducting magnet where electron, proton, and photon signals were measured. A bar of bismuth germanate scintillating crystal coupled to an avalanche photodiode served as the photon detector that operated in the cryogenic, high magnetic field environment. The branching ratio for this energy region was measured and is consistent with the theoretical calculation. An experiment is under way to measure the branching ratio with an improved precision of 1% relative standard uncertainty and to measure the photon energy spectrum. In this paper, the apparatus modifications to reduce the systematic uncertainties will be described. Central to these improvements is the development of a 12-element detector based on the original photon detector design that will improve the statistical sensitivity. During data acquisition, a detailed calibration program will be performed to improve the systematic uncertainties. The development of these modifications is currently under way, and the second run of the experiment commenced in July 2008.