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Comptes Rendus Physique

Centrifugal quantum states of neutrons

Валерий Викторович Несвижевский, Alexei Yu. Voronin

Published Sep 8, 2011• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The “whispering gallery” effect has been known since ancient times for sound waves in air, later in water and more recently for a broad range of electromagnetic waves from the radiofrequency region, through visible light to X-rays. It consists of wave localization in the vicinity of concave surfaces. For matter waves, it would include a new feature: a massive particle would be settled in quantum states, with parameters depending on its mass. Here, we present the first observation of such an effect as well as constraints for short-range forces that could be estimated from this first observation.

DOI
10.1016/j.crhy.2011.07.001

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•Jan 1, 2015•0 citations
The “whispering gallery” effect has been known since ancient times for sound waves in air, later in water and more recently for a broad range of electromagnetic waves from the radiofrequency region, through visible light to X-rays. It consists of wave localization in the vicinity of concave surfaces. For matter waves, it would include a new feature: a massive particle would be settled in quantum states, with parameters depending on its mass. Here, we present the first observation of such an effect as well as constraints for short-range forces that could be estimated from this first observation.
The "whispering gallery" effect has been known since ancient times for sound waves in air, later in water and more recentiy for a broad range of electromagnetic waves from the radiofrequency region, through visible light to X-rays. It consists of wave localization in the vicinity of concave surfaces. For matter waves, it would include a new feature: a massive particle would be settled in quantum states, with parameters depending on its mass. Here, we present the observation and theoretical description of such an effect.
The ‘whispering gallery’ effect has been known since ancient times for sound waves in air, later in water and more recently for a broad range of electromagnetic waves: radio, optics, Roentgen and so on. It is intensively used and explored due to its numerous crucial applications. It consists of wave localization near a curved reflecting surface and is expected for waves of various natures, for instance, for neutrons and (anti)atoms. For (anti)matter waves, it includes a new feature: a massive particle is settled in quantum states, with parameters depending on its mass. In this talk, we present the first observation of the quantum whispering-gallery effect for matter particles (cold neutrons) 1-2. This phenomenon provides an example of an exactly solvable problem analogous to the ‘quantum bouncer’; it is complementary to recently discovered gravitational quantum states of neutrons3. These two phenomena provide a direct demonstration of the weak equivalence principle for a massive particle in a quantum state. Deeply bound long-living states are weakly sensitive to surface potential; highly excited short-living states are very sensitive to the wall nuclear potential shape. Therefore, they are a promising tool for studying fundamental neutron–matter interactions, quantum neutron optics and surface physics effects. Analogous phenomena could be measured with atoms and anti-atoms 4-5.
This unique book demonstrates the undivided unity and infinite diversity of quantum mechanics using a single phenomenon: quantum bounces of ultra-cold particles. Various examples of such "quantum bounces" are: gravitational quantum states of ultra-cold neutrons (the first observed quantum states of matter in a gravitational field), the neutron whispering gallery (an observed matter-wave analog of the whispering gallery effect well known in acoustics and for electromagnetic waves), and gravitational and whispering gallery states for anti-matter atoms that remain to be observed. These quantum states are an invaluable tool in the search for additional fundamental short-range forces, for exploring the gravitational interaction and quantum effects of gravity, for probing physics beyond the standard model, and for furthering studies into the foundations of quantum mechanics, quantum optics, and surface science.
Two related physical phenomena have recently been observed: quantum states of neutrons in the gravitational field above a flat mirror, and quantum states of neutrons in an effective centrifugal potential in the vicinity of a concave mirror. It is curious that the measurement of the near-surface quantum states of these two types is the first direct demonstration of the weak equivalence principle for a massive object in a quantum state. These two phenomena and their application to various domains of science will be explored using a new GRANIT spectrometer, which is under commissioning in the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France. Most recent advances in these domains are mentioned.
Neutrons not only fall classically in the gravitational field of the Earth as potatoes and other normal objects do; at certain conditions, they reveal quantum behavior, or even form well­ defined gravitational quantum states. Due to the relative simplicity of quantum mechanical rules for solving this problem, we could predict analytically the motion of a neutron in a grav­ itational field in the vicinity of a reflecting surface. Such a bouncing neutron can have only certain, discrete values of energy. These extremely small energy values turn out to be very sensitive probes to the presence of even tiny extra interactions, in particular those between the neutron and the mirror. Moreover, several emerging fields of research profit from experi­ ence and knowledge gained in the recent experimental observation of gravitational quantum states of ultracold neutrons, and extend the developed methods to atoms and anti-atoms, to whispering-gallery effect and other domains, thus providing more and more application for the method. Quantum bouncing particles could play their role in quantum tests of the equivalence principle, in explorations of gravitational properties of antimatter, in searching for new funda­ mental short-range and other interactions beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, in surface and thin-layer physics, in chemistry, and so on. In this short note we mention results of a few previous years and project nearest developments ..