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Physical Review Letters

Interferometric Measurement of Neutron Fizeau Effect

U. Bonse, Andreas Rumpf

Published Jun 9, 1986• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

For thermal neutrons we have measured the Fizeau effect to 1.5% accuracy. The quoted accuracy was achieved by use of a newly designed neutron interferometer. Four fast-moving samples, all parts of a single, four-winged, aluminum, rotating propeller, could be made to engage simultaneously in the interfering beams. Our experiment complements and exceeds two recent Fizeau experiments, one of which was performed with cold neutrons and much lower accuracy and the other with a moving medium inside stationary boundaries resulting in a null Fizeau effect.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.56.2441

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Gravitational, non-inertial, and motional effects

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Abstract The fundamental dual nature of neutrons –sometimes a particle (when detected) and sometimes a wave (when traversing the interferometer) – is wonderfully mani-fested by the non-local nature of the neutron interferometry experiments discussed in this chapter. We begin with a discussion of the series of experiments, called gravitationally induced quantum interference, in Section 7.1. Then in Section 7.2, the effect of the Earth’s rotation on the phase of a neutron de Broglie wave is described. This is the quantum mechanical analogue of the Michelson et al. (1925) experiment with light. An experiment in which this Sagnac phase shift was observed due to rotation of the interferometer on a turntable phase within the laboratory frame is also discussed (Atwood et al. 1984). An experiment related to the small effective mass of the neutron propagating in a crystal under Bragg reflecting conditions and its deflection due to the Coriolis force is discussed in Section 7.2.3 (Raum et al. 1997). Acceleration-induced interference, which is related to the gravity experiments by the principle of equivalence, is discussed in Section 7.3 (Bonse and Wroblewski 1983). Phase shifts caused by the motion of matter within the interferometer are related to the optical Fizeau effect. Several neutron Fizeau-type experiments are discussed in Section 7.4.

•Aug 10, 2000•1 citation
For thermal neutrons we have measured the Fizeau effect to 1.5% accuracy. The quoted accuracy was achieved by use of a newly designed neutron interferometer. Four fast-moving samples, all parts of a single, four-winged, aluminum, rotating propeller, could be made to engage simultaneously in the interfering beams. Our experiment complements and exceeds two recent Fizeau experiments, one of which was performed with cold neutrons and much lower accuracy and the other with a moving medium inside stationary boundaries resulting in a null Fizeau effect.
We report the results of a neutron interferometry experiment where for the first time (to our knowledge) a phase shift of a neutron de Broglie wave induced by moving matter has been successfully measured. This experiment is the quantum-mechanical analog of the optical Fizeau effect. The observed phase shift is caused by the motion of matter itself, and not by the motion of its boundaries. The experimental results are found to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. Some unexpected and previously unreported neutron wave interference effects observed during the experiment are also reported.
Neutron interferometry has proved to be a very precise technique for measuring the quantum mechanical phase of a neutron caused by a potential energy difference between two spatially separated neutron paths inside interferometer. The path length inside the interferometer can be many centimeters (and many centimeters apart) making it very practical to study a variety of samples, fields, potentials, and other macroscopic medium and quantum effects. The precision of neutron interferometry comes at a cost; neutron interferometers are very susceptible to environmental noise that is typically mitigated with large, active isolated enclosures. With recent advances in quantum information processing especially quantum error correction (QEC) codes we were able to demonstrate a neutron interferometer that is insensitive to vibrational noise. A facility at NIST’s Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) has just been commissioned with higher neutron flux than the NCNR’s older interferometer setup. This new facility is based on QEC neutron interferometer, thus improving the accessibility of neutron interferometry to the greater scientific community and expanding its applications to quantum computing, gravity, and material research.
Abstract The fundamental dual nature of neutrons –sometimes a particle (when detected) and sometimes a wave (when traversing the interferometer) – is wonderfully mani-fested by the non-local nature of the neutron interferometry experiments discussed in this chapter. We begin with a discussion of the series of experiments, called gravitationally induced quantum interference, in Section 7.1. Then in Section 7.2, the effect of the Earth’s rotation on the phase of a neutron de Broglie wave is described. This is the quantum mechanical analogue of the Michelson et al. (1925) experiment with light. An experiment in which this Sagnac phase shift was observed due to rotation of the interferometer on a turntable phase within the laboratory frame is also discussed (Atwood et al. 1984). An experiment related to the small effective mass of the neutron propagating in a crystal under Bragg reflecting conditions and its deflection due to the Coriolis force is discussed in Section 7.2.3 (Raum et al. 1997). Acceleration-induced interference, which is related to the gravity experiments by the principle of equivalence, is discussed in Section 7.3 (Bonse and Wroblewski 1983). Phase shifts caused by the motion of matter within the interferometer are related to the optical Fizeau effect. Several neutron Fizeau-type experiments are discussed in Section 7.4.