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New Journal of Physics

Measurement of the spin–rotation coupling in neutron polarimetry

Bülent Demirel, Stephan Sponar, Yuji Hasegawa

Published Feb 24, 2015• 20 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The effect of spin–rotation coupling is measured for the first time with neutrons. The coupling of spin with the angular velocity of a rotating spin turner can be observed as a phase shift in a neutron polarimeter set-up. After the neutron's spin is rotated by 2 π through a rotating magnetic field, different phase shifts are induced for 'up' and 'down' spin eigenstates. This phase difference results in the rotation of the neutron's spin-vector, which turns out to depend solely on the frequency of the rotation of the magnetic field. The experimental results agree well with the solutions acquired by the Pauli–Schrödinger equation.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/17/2/023065

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The effect of spin–rotation coupling is measured for the first time with neutrons. The coupling of spin with the angular velocity of a rotating spin turner can be observed as a phase shift in a neutron polarimeter set-up. After the neutron's spin is rotated by 2 π through a rotating magnetic field, different phase shifts are induced for 'up' and 'down' spin eigenstates. This phase difference results in the rotation of the neutron's spin-vector, which turns out to depend solely on the frequency of the rotation of the magnetic field. The experimental results agree well with the solutions acquired by the Pauli–Schrödinger equation.
Einstein's theory of general relativity and quantum theory form the two major pillars of modern physics. However, certain inertial properties of a particle's intrinsic spin are inconspicuous while the inertial properties of mass are well known. Here, by performing a neutron interferometric experiment, we observe phase shifts arising as a consequence of the spin's coupling with the angular velocity of a rotating magnetic field. This coupling is a purely quantum mechanical extension of the Sagnac effect. The resulting phase shifts linearly depend on the frequency of the rotation of the magnetic field. Our results agree with the predictions derived from the Pauli-Schrodinger equation.
Abstract Einstein’s theory of general relativity and quantum theory form the two major pillars of modern physics. However, certain inertial properties of a particle’s intrinsic spin are inconspicuous while the inertial properties of mass are well known. Here, by performing a neutron interferometric experiment, we observe phase shifts arising as a consequence of the spin’s coupling with the angular velocity of a rotating magnetic field. This coupling is a purely quantum mechanical extension of the Sagnac effect. The resulting phase shifts linearly depend on the frequency of the rotation of the magnetic field. Our results agree with the predictions derived from the Pauli–Schrödinger equation.
A miniaturised versatile spin rotator for application in neutron interferometer experiments is developed. The coil design without material in the beam path allows for a magnetic field adjustable to an arbitrary direction perpendicular to the neutron beam. The field simulations show a homogeneous field over the beam cross-section of 8 mm × 5 mm and a field transition ≲20 mm from inside to outside. The performance of the fabricated miniaturised coil was quantified by carrying out the polarimeter experiment of Demirel et al ( New J. Phys. , 17 :023065, 2015) regarding spin-rotation coupling. The high efficiency spin manipulations by the implemented rotating magnetic field results in a linear dependence between the phase shift and the rotation frequency. In near future, the spin rotator will be used to investigate spin-rotation coupling in a related interferometer experiment.
The physical basis for the description of phenomena by a rotating observer is investigated. A simple, yet tentative, extension of the hypothesis of locality is used to determine the interference phase shift induced by the rotation of a neutron interferometer. The result consists of the Sagnac term, which is due to the coupling of the orbital angular momentum of the neutron with the rotation of the frame, and a new term which arises from a similar coupling because of the neutron spin. The latter effect is generally smaller than the Sagnac phase shift by the ratio of de Broglie wavelength of the neutron to the dimension of the interferometer. The possibility of detecting the new effect is briefly discussed.
Geometric phase phenomena in single neutrons have been observed in polarimeter and interferometer experiments. Interacting with static and time dependent magnetic fields, the state vectors acquire a geometric phase tied to the evolution within spin subspace. In a polarimeter experiment the non-additivity of quantum phases for mixed spin input states is observed. In a Si perfect-crystal interferometer experiment appearance of geometric phases, induced by interaction with an oscillating magnetic field, is verified. The total system is characterized by an entangled state, consisting of neutron and radiation fields, governed by a Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. In addition, the influence of the geometric phase on a Bell measurement, expressed by the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality, is studied. It is demonstrated that the effect of geometric phase can be balanced by an appropriate change of Bell angles.