Measurement of the neutron lifetime by counting trapped protons

Abstract

We measured the neutron decay lifetime by counting in-beam neutron decay recoil protons trapped in a quasi-Penning trap. The absolute neutron beam fluence was measured by capture in a thin 6LiF foil detector with known efficiency. The combination of these measurements gives the neutron lifetime: τn = (886.8 ± 1.2 ± 3.2) s, where the first (second) uncertainty is statistical (systematic) in nature. This is the most precise neutron lifetime determination to date using an in-beam method.