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Rauch H, Lemmel H, Baron M, et al. Measurement of a confinement induced neutron phase. Nature. 2002;417(6889):630-2doi: 10.1038/nature00773.
Rauch, H., Lemmel, H., Baron, M., & Loidl, R. (2002). Measurement of a confinement induced neutron phase. Nature, 417(6889), 630-2. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature00773
Rauch, H, et al. "Measurement of a confinement induced neutron phase." Nature vol. 417,6889 (2002): 630-2. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature00773
Rauch H, Lemmel H, Baron M, Loidl R. Measurement of a confinement induced neutron phase. Nature. 2002 Jun 06;417(6889):630-2. doi: 10.1038/nature00773. PMID: 12050660.
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Nature. 2002 Jun 06;417(6889):630-2. doi: 10.1038/nature00773.

Measurement of a confinement induced neutron phase.

Nature

H Rauch, H Lemmel, M Baron, R Loidl

Affiliations

  1. Atominstitut der Osterreichischen Universitäten, A-1020 Wien, Austria. [email protected]

PMID: 12050660 DOI: 10.1038/nature00773

Abstract

Particle physicists see neutrons as tiny massive particles with a confinement radius of about 0.7 fm and a distinct internal quark gluon structure. In quantum mechanics, neutrons are described by wave packets whose spatial extent may become ten orders of magnitude larger than the confinement radius, and can even reach macroscopic dimensions, depending on the degree of monochromaticity. For neutrons passing through narrow slits, it has been predicted that quantization of the transverse momentum component changes the longitudinal momentum component, resulting in a phase shift that should be measurable using interferometric methods. Here we use neutron interferometry to measure the phase shift arising from lateral confinement of a neutron beam passing through a narrow slit system. The phase shift arises mainly from neutrons whose classical trajectories do not touch the walls of the slits. In this respect, the non-locality of quantum physics is apparent.

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