2008/06/24 by V. V. Nesvizhevsky, A. K. Petukhov, K. V. Protasov +2 · 41 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Classical mechanics #Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope #Formalism (music) #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Neutron #Physics #Quantum #Quantum mechanics #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Surface roughness #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.78.033616
published in Physical Review A 78(3) (American Physical Society) · 13 pages, 10 figures
arxiv created 2008/06/24 · openalex publication_date 2008/09/23 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We propose a method for observation of the quasistationary states of neutrons localized near a 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 can 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 a formalism that describes quantitatively the neutron motion near the mirror surface. The effects of mirror roughness are taken into account.