Title: Detecting nanometer-scale new forces with coherent neutron scattering

Journal Article · · Physical Review D

Significant effort has been devoted to searching for new fundamental forces of nature. At short length scales (below approximately 10 nm), the strongest experimental constraints come from neutron scattering from individual nuclei in gases. The leading experiments at longer length scales instead measure forces between macroscopic test masses. We propose a hybrid of these two approaches: scattering neutrons off of a target that has spatial structure at nanoscopic length scales. Such structures will give a coherent enhancement to small-angle scattering, where the new force is most significant. This can considerably improve the sensitivity of neutron scattering experiments for new forces in the 0.1–100 nm range. We discuss the backgrounds due to Standard Model interactions and a variety of potential target structures that could be used, estimating the resulting sensitivities. We show that, using only one day of beam time at a modern neutron scattering facility, our proposal has the potential to detect new forces as much as 2 orders of magnitude beyond current laboratory constraints at the appropriate length scales.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford U., ITP; Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Stanford University, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF); Simons Investigator; US Department of Energy; USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
Grant/Contract Number:
89243024CSC000002; AC02-07CH11359; SC0017970
OSTI ID:
1998801
Report Number(s):
FERMILAB-PUB-23-160-SQMS-V
Journal Information:
Physical Review D, Journal Name: Physical Review D Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 108; ISSN 2470-0010; ISSN 2470-0029
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (117)

Neutron Scattering and Dynamics of Simple Liquids journal March 1990
X-Ray Interactions: Photoabsorption, Scattering, Transmission, and Reflection at E = 50-30,000 eV, Z = 1-92 journal July 1993
Stellar cooling bounds on new light particles: plasma mixing effects journal February 2017
The small angle neutron spectrometer at the HANARO reactor, Korea journal December 2002
Preparation of monodisperse silica particles: Control of size and mass fraction journal August 1988
Neutron scattering lengths: A survey of experimental data and methods journal September 1991
Electromagnetic neutron-atom interactions journal August 1986
Light pseudoscalars, particle physics and cosmology journal June 1987
A high-performance neutron velocity selector journal January 1989
Small-angle neutron scattering instrument of the Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo (SANS-U) journal August 1995
New SANS instrument at the BER II reactor in Berlin, Germany journal August 1995
Improvements in computation of form factors journal April 1993
X-ray magnetic scattering journal October 1999
New developments in the Casimir effect journal October 2001
Experimental status of gravitational-strength forces in the sub-centimeter regime journal January 1999
Equivalence principle tests, equivalence theorems, and new long-range forces journal November 2001
Density measurement of size selected multiwalled carbon nanotubes by mobility-mass characterization journal April 2009
The weight and density of carbon nanotubes versus the number of walls and diameter journal August 2010
Evaluating the characteristics of multiwall carbon nanotubes journal July 2011
ENDF/B-VII.1 Nuclear Data for Science and Technology: Cross Sections, Covariances, Fission Product Yields and Decay Data journal December 2011
Neutron Thermal Cross Sections, Westcott Factors, Resonance Integrals, Maxwellian Averaged Cross Sections and Astrophysical Reaction Rates Calculated from the ENDF/B-VII.1, JEFF-3.1.2, JENDL-4.0, ROSFOND-2010, CENDL-3.1 and EAF-2010 Evaluated Data Libraries journal December 2012
A new 40m small angle neutron scattering instrument at HANARO, Korea
  • Han, Young-Soo; Choi, Sung-Min; Kim, Tae-Hwan
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 721 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2013.04.052
journal September 2013
LISe pixel detector for neutron imaging
  • Herrera, Elan; Hamm, Daniel; Wiggins, Brenden
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 833 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.07.035
journal October 2016
The instrument suite of the European Spallation Source
  • Andersen, K. H.; Argyriou, D. N.; Jackson, A. J.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 957 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.163402
journal March 2020
Slit and phase grating diffraction with a double crystal diffractometer journal November 2006
Dark matter Z′ and XENON1T excess from U(1) extended standard model journal November 2020
Feebly interacting U(1)B−L gauge boson warm dark matter and XENON1T anomaly journal November 2020
The neutron. Its properties and basic interactions journal January 2008
Nanotechnology and nanostructured materials: trends in carbon nanotubes journal January 2004
New perspectives for neutron imaging through advanced event-mode data acquisition journal November 2021
Density and refractive index of solid layers of noble gases and sulphur hexafluoride journal January 1974
Density and surface tension of liquid xenon and theory of corresponding states for the inert gases journal January 1965
Search of non-standard strong gravity at nuclear scale using electron spin geodetic precession journal January 2014
Surface Tension and Energy of Liquid Xenon journal August 1967
Handbook of Basic Atomic Spectroscopic Data journal December 2005
Magnetic scattering of x rays (invited) journal April 1985
Solid Xenon Project conference January 2010
Measurement of area density of vertically aligned carbon nanotube forests by the weight-gain method journal April 2013
Analytical evaluation of atomic form factors: Application to Rayleigh scattering journal May 2015
Atomic form factors, incoherent scattering functions, and photon scattering cross sections journal July 1975
Relativistic atomic form factors and photon coherent scattering cross sections journal January 1979
Experimental search for Non-Newtonian forces in the nanometer scale with slow neutrons conference January 2021
Neutron flat-panel detector using In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistor journal January 2022
The structure of molecular liquids by neutron scattering journal January 1973
Neutron scattering lengths and cross sections journal January 1992
New interactions and the standard models journal November 1996
A review of short-range gravity experiments in the LHC era journal January 2015
The design of a velocity selector for long wavelength neutrons journal January 1966
Evading astrophysical constraints on axion-like particles journal September 2005
Stellar limits on scalars from electron-nucleus bremsstrahlung journal July 2023
Ultra small angle scattering versus diffraction journal November 2010
Review of Particle Physics journal August 2022
Theory of Slow Neutron Scattering by Liquids. I journal May 1962
On the Interaction Between Neutrons and Electrons journal December 1947
The Influence of Retardation on the London-van der Waals Forces journal February 1948
On the Polarization of Fast Neutrons journal February 1948
On the Interpretation of Neutron-Proton Scattering Data by the Schwinger Variational Method journal July 1949
Elastic Scattering of Photons by Nuclei journal November 1951
The Electromagnetic Properties of Dirac Particles journal September 1952
Correlations in Space and Time and Born Approximation Scattering in Systems of Interacting Particles journal July 1954
Conservation of Heavy Particles and Generalized Gauge Transformations journal June 1955
Determination of the effective transverse coherence of the neutron wave packet as employed in reflectivity investigations of condensed-matter structures. I. Measurements journal March 2014
Determination of the effective transverse coherence of the neutron wave packet as employed in reflectivity investigations of condensed-matter structures. II. Analysis of elastic scattering using energy-gated wave packets with an application to neutron reflection from ruled gratings journal March 2014
Polarization dependence of magnetic x-ray scattering journal February 1988
Neutron-electron scattering length and electric polarizability of the neutron derived from cross sections of bismuth and of lead and its isotopes journal June 1995
Neutron charge radius determined from the energy dependence of the neutron transmission of liquid 208 Pb and 209 Bi journal October 1997
Neutron charge radius and the Dirac equation journal July 1999
Neutron-proton effective range parameters and zero-energy shape dependence journal April 2006
Exploring the robustness of stellar cooling constraints on light particles journal October 2020
Cornering the axion with C P -violating interactions journal December 2020
Searching for new interactions at submicron scale using the Mössbauer effect journal December 2020
Search for non-Newtonian interactions at micrometer scale with a levitated test mass journal September 2021
New macroscopic forces? journal July 1984
Phenomenology, astrophysics, and cosmology of theories with submillimeter dimensions and TeV scale quantum gravity journal March 1999
New origin for approximate symmetries from distant breaking in extra dimensions journal January 2002
Probing submicron forces by interferometry of Bose-Einstein condensed atoms journal December 2003
Fat gravitons, the cosmological constant and submillimeter tests journal February 2004
Need for purely laboratory-based axionlike particle searches journal January 2007
Neutron scattering and extra-short-range interactions journal February 2008
Bounds on new light particles from high-energy and very small momentum transfer n p elastic scattering data journal December 2008
Limits on a C P -violating scalar axion-nucleon interaction journal July 2012
Search for deviations from the inverse square law of gravity at nm range using a pulsed neutron beam journal March 2018
Constraints on New Gravitylike Forces in the Nanometer Range journal April 2015
Stronger Limits on Hypothetical Yukawa Interactions in the 30–8000 nm Range journal June 2016
New Test of the Gravitational 1 / r 2 Law at Separations down to 52     μ m journal March 2020
Surface Tension and Viscosity of Xenon Near Its Critical Point journal November 1971
Constraint on hypothetical light interacting bosons from low-energy neutron experiments journal March 1992
Interpreting the Neutron's Electric Form Factor: Rest Frame Charge Distribution or Foldy Term? journal July 1999
Constraining New Forces in the Casimir Regime Using the Isoelectronic Technique journal June 2005
Compatibility of Cast Search with Axionlike Interpretation of PVLAS Results journal October 2006
Reconciling the CAST and PVLAS Results journal January 2007
Compatibility of the Chameleon-Field Model with Fifth-Force Experiments, Cosmology, and PVLAS and CAST Results journal September 2007
The new SANS instrument at the Swiss spallation source SINQ journal June 2000
New high-flux small-angle neutron scattering instrumentation and the Center for Structural and Molecular Biology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory journal April 2003
The extended Q -range small-angle neutron scattering diffractometer at the SNS journal July 2010
An introduction to small-angle neutron scattering journal December 1988
The 30 m Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Instruments at the National Institute of Standards and Technology journal June 1998
D2AM, a Beamline with a High-Intensity Point-Focusing Fixed-Exit Monochromator for Multiwavelength Anomalous Diffraction Experiments journal November 1998
A novel experimental approach for nanostructure analysis: simultaneous small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering journal May 2020
The very small angle neutron scattering instrument at the National Institute of Standards and Technology journal February 2022
ID15A at the ESRF – a beamline for high speed operando X-ray diffraction, diffraction tomography and total scattering journal January 2020
Fast neutron detector based on TimePix pixel device with micrometer spatial resolution conference October 2009
Aligned Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Membranes journal January 2004
Pendellösung interferometry probes the neutron charge radius, lattice dynamics, and fifth forces journal September 2021
Constraints on new interactions from neutron scattering experiments journal June 2006
The Theoretical Background of the Fifth Force journal August 1991
Evading the Astrophysical Limits on Light Pseudoscalars journal December 2006
T ESTS OF THE G RAVITATIONAL I NVERSE -S QUARE L AW journal December 2003
Interferometric Wavelength Determinations in the First Spectrum of ^136Xe journal January 1970
Phase Diagrams of the Elements book December 1991
Determination of the Spatial Resolution in the Case of Imaging Magnetic Fields by Polarized Neutrons journal July 2021
A Review: Fundamental Aspects of Silicate Mesoporous Materials journal December 2012
Prospects for Searching Thermal Effects, Non-Newtonian Gravity and Axion-Like Particles: Cannex Test of the Quantum Vacuum journal March 2019
Dark Matter Axions, Non-Newtonian Gravity and Constraints on Them from Recent Measurements of the Casimir Force in the Micrometer Separation Range journal September 2021
Studying Soft-matter and Biological Systems over a Wide Length-scale from Nanometer and Micrometer Sizes at the Small-angle Neutron Diffractometer KWS-2 journal December 2016
Carbon nanotubes-properties and applications: a review journal July 2013
Outline of neutron scattering formalism journal January 1993