, R.
, , T.
and Vinson, J.
(2018),
Intrinsic Orbital Angular Momentum States of Neutrons, Physical Review Letters, [online], https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.090402
(Accessed January 10, 2026)
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Intrinsic Orbital Angular Momentum States of Neutrons
Published
Author(s)
, ,
Abstract
A recent neutron interferometry experiment attempted to observe the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of neutron de Broglie waves of neutron de Broglie waves using a spiral phase (SPP) (Nature 525, 504 (2015) [1]). Based upon conventional neutron optical ideas, we provide an alternative explanation of the two-dimensional interference patterns observed. Since the transverse coherence length of the neutrons in the NIST interferometer is a very small fraction of the transverse dimension of the SPP used, we show that neutron wave packets passing through the SPP acquire a vanishingly small intrinsic OAM. Given the small transverse coherence of the incident neutrons, we show that the LLL perfect silicon crystal neutron interferometer actually consists of a very large number of independent, incoherently superposed interferometers. Simple phase contrast explains the observed interference patterns.Citation
Physical Review Letters
Volume
120
Issue
9
Pub Type
Journals
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Keywords
neutron, orbital angular momentum, interferometer
Citation
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Created March 2, 2018, Updated November 10, 2018