Proposal for measuring the quantum states of neutrons in the gravitational field with a CCD-based pixel sensor

TL;DR

This paper proposes an experimental setup using a CCD-based pixel sensor to precisely measure the quantum states of ultracold neutrons in Earth's gravitational field, aiming to observe their fine structure.

Contribution

It introduces a novel measurement system combining a CCD sensor and magnification to analyze neutron quantum states with high spatial resolution.

Findings

Sensor spatial resolution of 5.3 micrometers

Achieved two orders of magnitude magnification

Demonstrated feasibility of precise quantum state measurement

Abstract

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.