We propose a method for observation of the quasi-stationary states of neutrons, localized near the curved mirror surface. The bounding effective well is formed by the centrifugal potential and the mirror Fermi-potential. This phenomenon is an example of an exactly solvable "quantum bouncer" problem that could be studied experimentally. It could provide a promising tool for studying fundamental neutron-matter interactions, as well as quantum neutron optics and surface physics effects. We develop formalism, which describes quantitatively the neutron motion near the mirror surface. The effects of mirror roughness are taken into account.
Huygens' principle following from the d'Alembert wave equation is not valid in two-dimensional space. A Schrodinger particle of vanishing angular momentum moving freely in two dimensions experiences an attractive force - the quantum anti-centrifugal force - towards its center. We connect these two phenomena by comparing and contrasting the radial propagators of the d'Alembert wave equation and of a free non-relativistic quantum mechanical particle in two and three dimensions.
In a two-dimensional world a free quantum particle of vanishing angular momentum experiences an attractive force. This force originates from a modification of the classical centrifugal force due to the wave nature of the particle. For positive energies the quantum anti-centrifugal force manifests itself in a bunching of the nodes of the energy wave functions towards the origin. For negative energies this force is sufficient to create a bound state in a two-dimensional delta function potential. In a counter-intuitive way the attractive force pushes the particle away from the location of the del…
Analytical solutions are presented for eigenvalues, eigenfunctions of {\color{red} D-dimensional Schrodinger equation having Eckart potential} within Nikiforov-Uvarov method. This uses a new, improved approximation for centrifugal term, from a combination of Greene-Aldrich and Pekeris approximations. Solutions are obtained in terms of hypergeometric functions. It facilitates an accurate representation in entire domain. Its validity is illustrated for energies in an arbitrary $\ell \neq 0$ quantum state. Results are compared for a chosen set of potential parameters in different dimensions. In s…
Two physically important potentials (Manning-Rosen and Pöschl-Teller) are considered for the ro-vibrational energy in diatomic molecules. An improved new approximation is invoked for the centrifugal term, which is then used for their solution within the Nikiforov-Uvarov framework. This employs a recently proposed scheme, which combines the two widely used Greene-Aldrich and Pekeris-type approximations. Thus, approximate analytical expressions are derived for eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. The energies are examined with respect to two approximation parameters, $λ$ and $ν$. The original approxi…
The behaviour of quantum systems in non-inertial frames is revisited from the point of view of affine coherent state (ACS) quantization. We restrict our approach to the one-particle dynamics confined in a rotating plane about a fixed axis. This plane is considered as punctured due to the existence of the rotation center, which is viewed as a singularity. The corresponding phase space is the affine group of the plane and the ACS quantization enables us to quantize the system by respecting the affine symmetry of the true phase space. Our formulation predicts the appearance of an additional quant…
The approximate analytical bound state solution of the Schrödinger equation for the Manning-Rosen potential is carried out by taking a new approximation scheme to the orbital centrifugal term. The Nikiforov-Uvarov method is used in the calculations. We obtain analytic forms for the energy eigenvalues and the corresponding normalized wave functions in terms of the Jacobi polynomials or hypergeometric functions for different screening parameters 1/b. The rotational-vibrational energy states for a few diatomic molecules are calculated for arbitrary quantum numbers n and l with different values of…
The approximate analytical solutions of the Dirac equations with the reflectionless-type and Rosen-Morse potentials including the spin-orbit centrifugal (pseudo-centrifugal) term are obtained. Under the conditions of spin and pseudospin (pspin) symmetry concept, we obtain the bound state energy spectra and the corresponding two-component upper- and lower-spinors of the two Dirac particles by means of the Nikiforov-Uvarov (NU) method in closed form. The special cases of the s-wave κ=\pm1 (l=l=0) Dirac equation and the non-relativistic limit of Dirac equation are briefly studied.
In the quantum frame, for 3-dimensional space, in the two body problem case, we approach the Schrödinger equation (SE) taking in account the potential: Vq(r)=Dr^2+(A/r)+(B/r^2) called by us quasi-harmonic potential with the centrifugal type term, with D,A,B >0 and D<<1. We use Laplace transform method (LTM) and we find for the first time an analytic solution of the Vq-potential problem. Namely, using directly and inverse Laplace transformations, we obtain the complete forms of the energy eigenvalues and wave functions. Furthermore, for this potential Vq, we make considerations about critical o…
An alternate formalism is developed to determine the energy eigenvalues of quantum mechanical systems, confined within a rigid impenetrable spherical box of radius $r_0$, in the framework of Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation. Instead of considering the Langer correction for the centrifugal term, the approach adopted here is that of Hainz and Grabert : The centrifugal term is expanded perturbatively (in powers of $\hbar$), decomposing it into 2 terms -- the classical centrifugal potential and a quantum correction. Hainz and Grabert found that this method reproduced the exact energie…
Using an approximation scheme to deal with the centrifugal (pseudo-centrifugal) term, we solve the Dirac equation with the screened Coulomb (Yukawa) potential for any arbitrary spin-orbit quantum number κ. Based on the spin and pseudospin symmetry, analytic bound state energy spectrum formulas and their corresponding upper- and lower-spinor components of two Dirac particles are obtained using a shortcut of the Nikiforov-Uvarov method. We find a wide range of permissible values for the spin symmetry constant C_{s} from the valence energy spectrum of particle and also for pseudospin symmetry con…
By using an improved approximation scheme to deal with the centrifugal (pseudo-centrifugal) term, we solve the Dirac equation for the generalized Morse potential with arbitrary spin-orbit quantum number κ. In the presence of spin and pseudospin symmetry, the analytic bound state energy eigenvalues and the associated upper- and lower-spinor components of two Dirac particles are found by using the basic concepts of the Nikiforov-Uvarov method. We study the special cases when κ=\pm1 (l=l=0, s-wave), the non-relativistic limit and the limit when α becomes zero (Kratzer potential model). The presen…
In this contribution a path integral approach for the quantum motion on three-dimensional spaces according to Koenigs, for short``Koenigs-Spaces'', is discussed. Their construction is simple: One takes a Hamiltonian from three-dimensional flat space and divides it by a three-dimensional superintegrable potential. Such superintegrable potentials will be the isotropic singular oscillator, the Holt-potential, the Coulomb potential, or two centrifugal potentials, respectively. In all cases a non-trivial space of non-constant curvature is generated. In order to obtain a proper quantum theory a curv…
We summarize unusual bound or localized states in quantum mechanics. Our guide through these intriguing phenomena is the classical physics of the upside-down pendulum. Taking advantage of the analogy between the corresponding Newton's equation of motion and the time-independent Schrödinger equation, we discuss the zero-energy ground state in a three-dimensional, spatially oscillating, potential. Moreover, we focus on the effect of the attractive quantum anti-centrifugal potential that only occurs in a two-dimensional situation.
Ongoing fascination with quantum mechanics keeps driving the development of the wide field of quantum-optics, including its neutron-optics branch. Application of neutron-optical methods and, especially, neutron interferometry and polarimetry has a long-standing tradition for experimental investigations of fundamental quantum phenomena. We give an overview of related experimental efforts made in recent years.
The stored ultra-cold neutrons have been developed. A high density ultra-cold neutron gas has been recently produced by using the nuclear spallation method. We investigate the thermodynamic properties of the quantum ultra-cold neutron gas in the Earth's gravitational field. We find that the quantum effects increase temperature dependence of the chemical potential and the internal energy in the low temperature region. The density distribution of quantum ultra-cold neutron gas is modified by the Earth's gravitational field.
The dynamics of a quantum system undergoing frequent "measurements", leading to the so-called quantum Zeno effect, is examined on the basis of a neutron-spin experiment recently proposed for its demonstration. When the spatial degrees of freedom are duely taken into account, neutron-reflection effects become very important and may lead to an evolution which is totally different from the ideal case.
The characterization of quantum information quantifiers has attracted a considerable attention of the scientific community, since they are a useful tool to verify the presence of quantum correlations in a quantum system. In this context, in the present work we show a theoretical study of some quantifiers, such as entanglement witness, entanglement of formation, Bell's inequality violation and geometric quantum discord as a function of the diffractive properties of neutron scattering. We provide one path toward identifying the presence of quantum correlations and quantum nonlocality in a molecu…
We provide a quantum approach description of neutron single and double-slit diffraction, with specific attention to the cold neutron diffraction ($λ\approx 20$Å) carried out by Zeilinger et al. in 1988. We find the theoretical results are good agreement with experimental data.
Using a neutron double-slit setup, we construct a quantum bit commitment scheme in which time development of quantum states plays an essential role. Our scheme evades the widely accepted no-go theorem by the fact that it is neither possible to stop the time evolution of spreading wave packets, nor is it possible to evolve them backward in time. Moreover, for unstable particles such as neutrons, one cannot delay detecting their positions indefinitely, or they would disintegrate spontaneously and escape detection. We find that using non-stationary states instead of stationary ones, unconditional…
We show that an experimental demonstration of quantum contextuality using 2 degrees of freedom of single neutrons based on a violation of an inequality derived from the Peres-Mermin proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem would be more conclusive than those obtained from previous experiments involving pairs of ions [M. A. Rowe et al., Nature (London) 409, 791 (2001)] and single neutron [Y. Hasegawa et al., Nature (London) 425, 45 (2003)] based on violations of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt-like inequalities.
We study theoretically the quantum motion of a neutron in a horizontal wave-guide in the gravitational field of the Earth. The wave-guide in question is equipped with a mirror below and a rough absorber above. We show that such a system acts as a quantum filter, i.e. it effectively absorbs quantum states with sufficiently high transversal energy but transmits low-energy states. The states transmitted are mainly determined by the potential well formed by the gravitational field of the Earth and the mirror. The formalism developed for quantum motion in an absorbing wave-guide is applied to the d…
We demonstrate that inelastic neutron scattering technique can be used to indirectly detect and measure the macroscopic quantum correlations quantified by both entanglement and discord in a quantum magnetic material, VODPO4 . 1D2O. The amount of quantum correlations is obtained 2 by analyzing the neutron scattering data of magnetic excitations in isolated V4+ spin dimers. Our quantitative analysis shows that the critical temperature of this material can reach as high as Tc = 82.5 K, where quantum entanglement drops to zero. Significantly, quantum discord can even survive at Tc = 300 K and may …
We investigate quantum coherences in the presence of noise by entangling the spin and path degrees of freedom of the output neutron beam from a noisy three-blade perfect crystal neutron interferometer. We find that in the presence of dephasing noise on the path degree of freedom the entanglement of the output state reduces to zero, however the quantum discord remains non-zero for all noise values. Hence even in the presence of strong phase noise non-classical correlations persist between the spin and path of the neutron beam. This indicates that measurements performed on the spin of the neutro…
Quantum mechanics predicts that the decay rate of unstable systems could be effectively modified by the process of the measurement of the survival probability. Depending on the intrinsic properties of the unstable system and the experimental setup for the observation, one could obtain the so called (direct) quantum Zeno and inverse quantum Zeno effects corresponding to a slowing down or a speeding up of the decay, respectively. We argue that the inverse quantum Zeno effect is in principle detectable at a percent level for the neutron decay in experiments with trapped ultracold neutrons. Conver…
This article describes gravity experiments, where the outcome depends upon both the gravitational acceleration $g$ and the Planck constant $\hbar$. We focus on the work done with an elementary particle, the neutron.
Magnetic molecules, modelled as finite-size spin systems, are test-beds for quantum phenomena and could constitute key elements in future spintronics devices, long-lasting nanoscale memories or noise-resilient quantum computing platforms. Inelastic neutron scattering is the technique of choice to probe them, characterizing molecular eigenstates on atomic scales. However, although large magnetic molecules can be controllably synthesized, simulating their dynamics and interpreting spectroscopic measurements is challenging because of the exponential scaling of the required resources on a classica…
We propose to test the electric neutrality of neutrons by a new technique using the spectroscopy of quantum states of ultra-cold neutrons in the gravity potential above a vertical mirror. The new technique is an application of Ramsey's method of separated oscillating fields to neutron's quantum states in the gravity potential of the earth. In the presence of an electric field E parallel or antiparallel to the direction of the acceleration of the earth g, the energy of the quantum states changes due to an additional electrostatic potential if a neutron carries a non-vanishing charge. In the lon…
In this letter we study the propagation of light in the neighbourhood of magnetised neutron stars. Thanks to the optical properties of quantum vacuum in the presence of a magnetic field, light emitted by background astronomical objects is deviated giving rise to a phenomenon of the same kind as the gravitational one. We give a quantitative estimation of this effect and we discuss the possibility of its observation. We show that this effect could be detected monitoring the evolution of the recently discovered double neutron star system J0737-3039.
Gravitationally bound neutrons have become an important tool in the experimental searches for new physics, such as modifications to Newton's force or candidates for dark matter particles. Here we include the relativistic effects of mass-energy equivalence into the model of gravitationally bound neutrons. Specifically, we investigate a correction in a gravitationally bound neutron's Hamiltonian due to the presence of an external magnetic field. We show that the neutron's additional weight due to mass-energy equivalence will cause a small shift in the neutron's eigenenergies and eigenstates, and…
Quantum states in the Earth's gravitational field can be observed, when ultra-cold neutrons fall under gravity. In an experiment at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, neutrons are reflected and trapped in a gravitational cavity above a horizontal mirror. The population of the ground state and the lowest states follows, step by step, the quantum mechanical prediction. An efficient neutron absorber removes the higher, unwanted states. The quantum states probe Newtonian gravity on the micrometer scale and we place limits for gravity-like forces in the range between 1 micron and 10 microns.
The behavior of the quantum potential is studied for a particle in a linear and a harmonic potential by means of an extended phase space technique. This is done by obtaining an expression for the quantum potential in momentum space representation followed by the generalization of this concept to extended phase space. It is shown that there exists an extended canonical transformation that removes the expression for the quantum potential in the dynamical equation. The situation, mathematically, is similar to disappearance of the centrifugal potential in going from the spherical to the Cartesian …
An experimental setup is proposed for the precise measurement of the quantum states of ultracold neutrons bound in the earth's gravitational field. The experiment utilizes a CCD-based pixel sensor and magnification system to observe the fine structure of the neutron distribution. In this work, we analyzed the sensor's deposited energy measurement capability and found that its spatial resolution was 5.3 um. A magnifying power of two orders of magnitude was realized by using a cylindrical rod as a convex mirror.
The recently observed quantum states of neutrons bound in a gravitational field are analyzed in the framework of one-parameter isospectral hamiltonians. Potentials isospectral to the usual Newton potential are explicitly constructed for the first time, then constrained using measured properties of the neutron gravitational states. The corresponding wave functions and the neutron fluxes are also calculated and analyzed in a simple model, including the ground state and the excited state contributions. The constructed isospectral potentials are discussed as candidates for a possible modification …
