Quantum levitation of nanoparticles seen with ultracold neutrons

Journal Article · Sun Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Crystallography Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063774513050088· OSTI ID:22210522

Voronin, A. Yu. ^[1]; Lambrecht, A.; Reynaud, S. ^[2]; Lychagin, E. V.; Muzychka, A. Yu.; Strelkov, A. V. ^[3]

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1. Lebedev Institute (Russian Federation)
2. Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel, CNRS, ENS, UPMC (France)
3. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Russian Federation)

Analyzing new experiments with ultracold neutrons (UCNs) we show that physical adsorption of nanoparticles/nanodroplets, levitating in high-excited states in a deep and broad potential well formed by van der Waals/Casimir-Polder (vdW/CP) forces results in new effects on a cross-road of the fields of fundamental interactions, neutron, surface and nanoparticle physics. Accounting for the interaction of UCNs with nanoparticles explains a recently discovered intriguing so-called 'small heating' of UCNs in traps. It might be relevant to the striking conflict of the neutron lifetime experiments with smallest reported uncertainties by adding false effects there.

• OSTI ID: 22210522
• Journal Information: Crystallography Reports, Vol. 58, Issue 5; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.; http://www.springer-ny.com; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1063-7745
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
ADSORPTION
EXCITED STATES
INTERACTIONS
LEVITATION
NANOSTRUCTURES
SURFACES
ULTRACOLD NEUTRONS
VAN DER WAALS FORCES