Search for long-range forces of a neutron and atoms with a trap of ultracold neutrons

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method using ultracold neutron spectrometry to search for long-range forces between neutrons and atoms, providing new constraints within a specific range and discussing future prospects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental approach to constrain long-range neutron-atom forces using ultracold neutrons and presents initial results and future potential.

Findings

Constraints on force strength within 10^{-10} to 10^{-4} cm range

First experimental results obtained from neutron-atom interaction measurements

Discussion of future improvements and applications of the UCN method

Abstract

A method of using a gravitational UCN spectrometer to search for long-range forces between neutrons and atoms is proposed. The constraints on the strength of long-range forces within the range of 10-10 - 10-4 cm can be obtained from the experiments on measurements of the total cross section of interaction of UCN with atoms of the noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr) and the data on the coherent neutron scattering length of the nucleus. The first result of such an analysis is presented. Further prospect of UCN method is discussed.