Neutron interferometry and tests of short-range modifications of gravity

TL;DR

This paper explores how neutron interferometry can test short-range modifications of gravity predicted by large extra dimension theories, addressing computational challenges and proposing new experimental constraints.

Contribution

It introduces a method to calculate neutron optical potential in thick brane models and identifies physical quantities that neutron interferometry can constrain in extra dimension scenarios.

Findings

Neutron interferometry can set bounds on extra-dimensional gravity effects.

Electric field phase shifter experiments can test short-range Post-Newtonian parameters.

The approach avoids non-computability issues in zero-width brane models.

Abstract

We consider tests of short-distance modifications of gravity based on neutron interferometry in the scenario of large extra dimensions. Avoiding the non-computability problem in the calculation of the internal gravitational potential of extended sources, typical of models with zero-width brane, we determine the neutron optical potential associated with the higher-dimension gravitational interaction between the incident neutron and a material medium in the context of thick brane theories. Proceeding this way, we identify the physical quantity of the extra dimension model that the neutron interferometry is capable of constraining. We also consider interferometric experiments in which the phase shifter is an electric field, as in the test of the Aharanov-Casher effect. We argue that this experiment, with this non-baryonic source, can be viewed as a test of the short-range behavior of Post-Newtonian parameters that measure the capacity of the pressure and the internal energy for producing gravity.