A polarimeter for spin transfer measurements of the [pi]d[right arrow]pp reaction

A proton polarimeter has been constructed at TRIUMF, with design specifications intended to measure the polarization of protons over an energy range of 100 MeV to 300 MeV. It was built as the principle detector in an experiment to determine three spin-transfer parameters of the fundamental π⃗d → p⃗p reaction. In this thesis, some theoretical and experimental design aspects of the spin-transfer measurement are discussed. The intent of this thesis is to describe an experiment¹ which measures the polarization of protons emitted from the πd→ p⃗p reaction, using an unpolarized target². The sole purpose of this experiment is to demonstrate that our polarimeter and general apparatus are capable of identifying the πd → pp events from a large background presence, and that the systematic errors associated with the polarization extraction have been identified. To this extent, the system is ready to produce the proton polarization required for the spin-transfer measurements. ¹This experiment is identical in all respects to the spin-transfer experiment, except that here, the target is unpolarized. ²The polarization of the protons is well know from the analyzing power, An₀, of the time reversed p⃗p → dπ reaction.Science, Faculty ofPhysics and Astronomy, Department ofGraduat