Casimir-Polder interaction of neutrons with metal or dielectric surfaces

Year: 2021

Authors: Gebhart V., Klatt J., Cronenberg G., Filter H., Buhmann SY.

Autors Affiliation: Albert Ludwigs Univ Freiburg, Phys Inst, Hermann Herder Str 3, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany; Tech Univ Wien, Atominst, Stadionallee 2, A-1020 Vienna, Austria; Tech Univ Munich, Phys Dept E66, Boltzmannstr 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany; Univ Kassel, Inst Phys, Heinirich Plett Str 40, D-34132 Kassel, Germany; CNR, INO, QSTAR, Largo Enrico Fermi 2, I-50125 Florence, Italy; LENS, Largo Enrico Fermi 2, I-50125 Florence, Italy; Swiss Fed Inst Technol, Dept Biosyst Sci & Engn, Mattenstr 26, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract: We predict a repulsive Casimir-Polder-type dispersion interaction between a single neutron and a metal or dielectric surface. We consider a scenario where a single neutron is subject to an external magnetic field. Due to its intrinsic magnetic moment, the neutron then forms a magnetisable two-level system which can exchange virtual photons with a nearby surface. The resulting dispersion interaction between a purely magnetic object (neutron) and a purely electric one (surface) is found to be repulsive, in contrast to the typical attractive interaction between electric objects. Its magnitude is considerably smaller than the standard atom-surface Casimir-Polder force due to the magnetic nature of the interaction and the smallness of the electron-to-neutron mass ratio. Nevertheless, we show that it can be comparable to the gravitational potential of the same surface and should be taken into consideration in future neutron interference experiments.

Journal/Review: NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS

Volume: 23 (7)      Pages from: 73026-1  to: 73026-9

More Information: We are grateful for discussions with G Barton, A Buchleitner, R Decca, F Intravia, H Lemmel and H Rauch. This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG, Grants BU 1803/3-1 and GRK 2079/1) and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF, Doctoral program Particles & Interactions, project No. W1252).
KeyWords: quantum electrodynamics; quantum description of interaction of light and matter; quantum optical phenomena in absorbing; amplifying; dispersive and conducting media; atom and neutron interferometry
DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/ac0e55

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