Beta-neutrino correlation experiments on laser trapped K-38m, K-37
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Laser trapping and cooling techniques are now being applied to the study of nuclear -decay at several labs. A magneto-optical trap (MOT) provides a localized source of atoms suspended in space, so the low-energy recoiling nuclei can freely escape and be detected in coincidence with the . This allows reconstruction of the neutrino momentum, and the deduction of the - correlation in a more direct fashion than previously possible. In addition, the nuclei can be polarized by atomic techniques, opening a new class of spin-correlation measurements to test the degree to which parity is maximally violated in the weak interaction. Our present experiment has detected several hundred thousand recoil-+ coincidences from the 0+ 0+ pure Fermi decay of 38mK, produced at the on-line isotope separators TISOL and ISAC at TRIUMF. Our goal is to set constraints on non-Standard Model scalar bosons competitive with high-energy colliders and more conventional - correlation experiments.