Abstract
The Airy wave packet is a solution to the potential-free Schrödinger equation that exhibits remarkable properties such as self-acceleration, nondiffraction, and self-healing. Although Airy beams are now routinely realized with electromagnetic waves and electrons, the implementation with neutrons has remained elusive due to small transverse coherence lengths, low fluence rates, and the absence of neutron lenses. In this Letter, we overcome these challenges through a holographic approach and present the first experimental demonstration of neutron Airy beams. The presented techniques pave the way for fundamental physics studies with Airy beams of nonelementary particles, the development of novel neutron optics components, and the realization of neutron Airy-vortex beams.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 153401 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 134 |
| Issue number | 15 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 18 2025 |
Funding
This work was supported by the Canadian Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) program, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), and the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Interagency Agreement 89243019SSC000025. This work was also supported by the DOE Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, in the program “Quantum Horizons: QIS Research and Innovation for Nuclear Science” through Grant No. DE-SC0023695. A portion of this research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This work is based partly on experiments performed at the Swiss spallation neutron source SINQ, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland. This work was supported by the Canadian Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) program, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), and the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Interagency Agreement 89243019SSC000025. This work was also supported by the DOE Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, in the program “Quantum Horizons: QIS Research and Innovation for Nuclear Science” through Grant No. DE-SC0023695. A portion of this research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This work is based partly on experiments performed at the Swiss spallation neutron source SINQ, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland.