arXiv · hep-ph/0502081
Study of the neutron quantum states in the gravity field
Abstract
We have studied neutron quantum states in the potential well formed by the earth's gravitational field and a horizontal mirror. The estimated characteristic sizes of the neutron wave functions in the two lowest quantum states correspond to expectations with an experimental accuracy. A position-sensitive neutron detector with an extra-high spatial resolution of ~2 microns was developed and tested for this particular experiment, to be used to measure the spatial density distribution in a standing neutron wave above a mirror for a set of some of the lowest quantum states. The present experiment can be used to set an upper limit for an additional short-range fundamental force. We studied methodological uncertainties as well as the feasibility of improving further the accuracy of this experiment.
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V. V. Nesvizhevsky, A. K. Petukhov, H. G. Boerner, T. A. Baranova, A. M. Gagarski, G. A. Petrov, K. V. Protasov, A. Yu. Voronin, S. Baessler, H. Abele, A. Westphal, L. Lucovac. 2005-02-14. Study of the neutron quantum states in the gravity field. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc%2Fs2005-02135-y
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