Electron Accelerator for Detector Characterization with Incident Particle Energies Between 0.1 and 1 MeV: Construction and Experimental Result Updates

Neutron decay provides a mechanism for studying the fundamental properties of the weak nuclear force. Modern neutron decay experiments require accurate energy reconstruction, which must be corrected for energy loss due to bremsstrahlung radiation during detection. A linear, pulsed electron accelerator was designed using Autodesk Inventor and Kassiopeia and is being constructed at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) in Durham, North Carolina. The completed accelerator will be mounted inside a pressure vessel filled with insulating gas to allow the accelerator to reach a peak energy of 1MeV. The accelerator will be used to study bremsstrahlung production and characterize semiconductor detectors used to study Nab experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Much progress has been made in building the accelerator and setting up the experiment. Construction and design updates, experimental results, and the next steps in the experimental process will be presented and discussed.