Production and guide tube transmission of very cold neutrons from pulsed cold source

The intensity and the energy spectra of Very Cold Neutrons (VCN) transmitted through a curved guide tube were measured by using the time-of-flight method of VCN. In the measurements, the curved guide tube having a characteristic neutron velocity of about 70 m/s is combined to a pulsed cold source of an electron linac in an internal target geometry. A space dependence of the VCN spectra was observed on the radial positions of a detector at the guide tube exit. A simple theoretical analysis on the transmission of VCN in the curved guide tube is also presented with taking into consideration about the effects of a finite size and a finite distance of the VCN-emitting source, and simple analytical formulas for the exit spectra of the guide tube are given. Comparisons between the experimental results and the theoretical calculations show good agreements, and the satisfactory performance of the present VCN guide tube assembly was ascertained. These results present also instructive features for understanding the structures and the space dependence of the exit spectra of a neutron guide tube. The VCN spectra at the guide tube exit can be divided into a few energy regions according to the transmission processes of VCN. Thus, the present study provides useful informations for the preparations of a VCN source with a curved guide tube. (author)