Adam Holley
Tennessee Technological University, TN·Physics
The Standard Model of particle physics has survived fifty years of testing, yet it cannot account for several things we see when we look at the universe at large scales. That mismatch hints at undiscovered physics, and finding it means building experiments sensitive enough to notice very small discrepancies.
- Fields
Physics
- Topics
ultracold neutrons
neutron lifetime
UCNtau
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Incorporate measured magnetic field maps of the UCNtau Halbach permanent-magnet array and first-principles simulations of the stored ultracold neutron phase space into a semiclassical spin-tracking Monte Carlo model of neutron depolarization.
- Characterize systematic effects from spin dynamics in the neutron lifetime measurement so that their treatment keeps pace with the experiment's improving statistical precision.
- Develop a real-time depolarization monitor for UCNtau that places run-by-run empirical limits on the spin-flip rate and cross-checks the computational spin-tracking model.
- Build and optimize a quantum sensor based on nitrogen-vacancy defects in diamond to control and characterize magnetic and electric fields for the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) experiment.
More about the research
Free neutrons are a good place to look. Slow them down enough and they become "ultracold" neutrons, which move so sluggishly that they can be bottled and held in traps for minutes, long enough to measure their properties with precision. This project develops techniques to sharpen two such measurements: UCNtau, which measures how long a free neutron lives before it decays, and nEDM, which looks for a slight separation of positive and negative charge inside the neutron, an electric dipole moment that would signal new physics.
Why it matters
Precise measurements of the neutron's lifetime and its possible electric dipole moment test the Standard Model where it is known to fall short, and could point toward the physics behind unexplained features of the universe, including why matter dominates over antimatter. The diamond-based quantum field sensors developed here could also serve other experiments needing careful magnetic and electric field control.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Andrea Shindler
University of California-Berkeley, CA·Physics
Calculate the electric dipole moments of protons and neutrons induced by theories beyond the Standard Model, to probe the source of the universe's matter-antimatter asymmetry.
Benjamin Augenbraun
Williams College, MA·Physics
Measure the electronic, vibrational, rotational, and hyperfine (nuclear spin) structure of molecules pairing copper, silver, or gold with lead, using laser spectroscopy to see which wavelengths of light they absorb.
Christopher Crawford
University of Kentucky, KY·Physics
Search for time-reversal symmetry violation by sending polarized neutrons through polarized nuclei, using low-energy neutron–nucleus resonances to amplify the effect, within the NOPTREX collaboration.
The school
Tennessee Technological University: 1 labs on PI Pages, $36M a year on research, 34 research doctorates a year.
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