Probing a possible excited state of tritium via the ⁶He(p,t)α reaction with the TexAT TPC

The ³H nucleus, or triton, is a well-studied few-body system, however, there remains uncertainty as to whether an exited state exists. Two previous experiments studying ⁶He(p,t)α at single beam energies [JETP Lett 59, 320 (1994); PRC 68, 024602 (2003)] observed an enhancement in the final α-particle spectrum corresponding to an excitation energy of about 7 MeV in the triton. To overcome the limitations of the single-beam energy measurements, the Texas Active Target Time Projection Chamber (TexAT TPC) has been utilized to measure ⁶He(p,t)α at multiple energy slices along the beam axis at the Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute. Reconstructing the vertex location, energy deposited, and scattering angle of the outgoing α-particles allows for Q-value reconstruction. When coupled with kinematics, this is used to separate ground state and potential excited state events. The decay products from any potential excited state can also be measured with the TPC to provide an unambiguous reaction identification. The latest results from this work will be presented.