Measurement of ${}^3$He${}^{++}$ Polarization at 5.3 MeV via Scattering with an Unpolarized ${}^4$He Target

Abstract

Since 2012, a BNL-MIT collaboration has worked to develop a polarized ${}^3$He ion source for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) using the existing Electron Beam Ionization Source (EBIS). ${}^3$He atoms are polarized using optical pumping at high field and injected as neutral atoms into the EBIS. A critical issue is the demonstration that the polarization of the extracted ${}^3$He${}^{++}$ ions from the source is high. In 2014, a concept to measure the nuclear polarization was developed in this paper. Since then, the development of the polarized ${}^3$He ion source has progressed, the polarimeter is under construction, and the demonstration experiment is expected to take place in the next several years.