On Estimation Methods of Depolarization Losses for Ultracold Neutrons in Magnetic Traps

The problem of finding the depolarization losses of neutrons is investigated in connection with the need to determine the systematic error for experiments with magnetic storage of ultracold neutrons in traps. In this paper, we consider three methods to estimate the neutrons depolarization probability: classical, quantum mechanical and approximate one. They are used to estimate the depolarization probability of ultracold neutrons in two magnetic traps: the trap developed in Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the one designed in the neutron physics laboratory of “NRC Kurchatov Institute”—PNPI. It is shown that all three methods are successfully used to estimate depolarization. This is of particular importance to compare of theoretical predictions with the results of measurement in experiments to determine the neutron lifetime.