Physics: Theses

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The (n,2p) Reaction as a Probe for a Nuclear Δ++ Component
(Houghton College, 2003-05-19) De Young, Rachel
An experiment to measure the 3He(n,2p)2n and 4He(n,2p)3n cross-sections was conducted at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) as a means to explore the Δ++ contribution to the nuclear wave function. Neutrons incident on gaseous 3He and 4He targets produced outgoing protons which traveled through two magnetic spectrometer arms, each consisting of a thin ΔE plastic scintillator, a permanent bending dipole magnet, two sets of x-y drift chambers, and a final calorimeter of three stacked plastic scintillators. Computer codes are being developed to analyze the delay line readouts from the drift chambers in order to determine particle trajectories through the magnetic field and trace back to the target. This information will be used to identify the outgoing particles and calculate their momenta. Once cross-sections have been determined, comparisons may be made to theoretical predictions that include a Δ component to the nuclear wave function.