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Title: Unveiling contextual realities by microscopically entangling a neutron

Abstract

The development of qualitatively new measurement capabilities is often a prerequisite for critical scientific and technological advances. Here we introduce an unconventional quantum probe, an entangled neutron beam, where individual neutrons can be entangled in spin, trajectory and energy. The spatial separation of trajectories from nanometers to microns and energy differences from peV to neV will enable investigations of microscopic magnetic correlations in systems with strongly entangled phases, such as those believed to emerge in unconventional superconductors. We develop an interferometer to prove entanglement of these distinguishable properties of the neutron beam by observing clear violations of both Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt and Mermin contextuality inequalities in the same experimental setup. Our work opens a pathway to a future of entangled neutron scattering in matter.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]; ORCiD logo [6];  [8];  [8];  [8]; ORCiD logo [3];  [2];  [6];  [2]; ORCiD logo [9]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Physics, Center for the Exploration of Energy and Matter, Quantum Science and Engineering Center
  2. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Physics, Center for the Exploration of Energy and Matter, Quantum Science and Engineering Center
  3. Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Oxford (United Kingdom). Rutherford Appleton Lab. (RAL)
  4. BonPhysics Research and Investigations (The Netherlands)
  5. Atominstitut, Vienna (Austria)
  6. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Physics, Quantum Science and Engineering Center
  7. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  8. Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands)
  9. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Physics, Center for the Exploration of Energy and Matter, Quantum Science and Engineering Center ; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1606032
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 11; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS

Citation Formats

Shen, J., Kuhn, S. J., Dalgliesh, R. M., de Haan, V. O., Geerits, N., Irfan, A. A. M., Li, F., Lu, S., Parnell, S. R., Plomp, J., van Well, A. A., Washington, A., Baxter, D. V., Ortiz, G., Snow, W. M., and Pynn, R. Unveiling contextual realities by microscopically entangling a neutron. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14741-y.
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Shen, J., Kuhn, S. J., Dalgliesh, R. M., de Haan, V. O., Geerits, N., Irfan, A. A. M., Li, F., Lu, S., Parnell, S. R., Plomp, J., van Well, A. A., Washington, A., Baxter, D. V., Ortiz, G., Snow, W. M., & Pynn, R. Unveiling contextual realities by microscopically entangling a neutron. United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14741-y
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Shen, J., Kuhn, S. J., Dalgliesh, R. M., de Haan, V. O., Geerits, N., Irfan, A. A. M., Li, F., Lu, S., Parnell, S. R., Plomp, J., van Well, A. A., Washington, A., Baxter, D. V., Ortiz, G., Snow, W. M., and Pynn, R. Tue . "Unveiling contextual realities by microscopically entangling a neutron". United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14741-y. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1606032.
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@article{osti_1606032,
title = {Unveiling contextual realities by microscopically entangling a neutron},
author = {Shen, J. and Kuhn, S. J. and Dalgliesh, R. M. and de Haan, V. O. and Geerits, N. and Irfan, A. A. M. and Li, F. and Lu, S. and Parnell, S. R. and Plomp, J. and van Well, A. A. and Washington, A. and Baxter, D. V. and Ortiz, G. and Snow, W. M. and Pynn, R.},
abstractNote = {The development of qualitatively new measurement capabilities is often a prerequisite for critical scientific and technological advances. Here we introduce an unconventional quantum probe, an entangled neutron beam, where individual neutrons can be entangled in spin, trajectory and energy. The spatial separation of trajectories from nanometers to microns and energy differences from peV to neV will enable investigations of microscopic magnetic correlations in systems with strongly entangled phases, such as those believed to emerge in unconventional superconductors. We develop an interferometer to prove entanglement of these distinguishable properties of the neutron beam by observing clear violations of both Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt and Mermin contextuality inequalities in the same experimental setup. Our work opens a pathway to a future of entangled neutron scattering in matter.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-020-14741-y},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 11,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {2}
}
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DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14741-y
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