Multimode structured neutron beams

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the creation of multimode structured neutron beams that can access multiple orbital angular momentum states simultaneously, enhancing neutron scattering analysis and material characterization capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel multimode neutron beam technique that allows simultaneous access to multiple OAM modes and hybrid OAM-Air beams, surpassing previous phase-grating efficiency limits.

Findings

Successful generation of multimode neutron beams with multiple OAM states

Enhanced information retrieval from neutron scattering experiments

Potential applications in materials science and fundamental physics

Abstract

The experimental realization of neutron orbital angular momentum (OAM) states and neutron Airy beams has opened new avenues for structured neutron science in both materials characterization and fundamental physics. These additional degrees of freedom in scattering experiments enable the exploration of selection rules for neutrons, the analysis of scattering properties in topological materials, and the generation of auto-focusing neutron beams. In the effort to enhance the amount of spatial and angular-momentum information retrievable from a single measurement, and to overcome current phase-grating efficiency limits, here we demonstrate multimode structured neutron beams that enable simultaneous access to multiple, well-defined OAM modes, and to hybrid combinations of OAM and Airy states. This multimode approach, analogous to wavelength- or OAM-multiplexing in optics, facilitates the efficient investigation of material scattering properties and nuclear interactions with a neutron source composed of a discretized OAM spectrum.