Spin - Orbital Angular Momentum Entanglement with Neutrons

01.01.2021 - 31.12.2025
Research funding project

It has been long known that Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) of bound massive particles and free photons is quantized. However, in recent years stable OAM has also been observed in free massive particles. Even more recently it was demonstrated that mixed OAM states can be prepared in free thermal neutrons using a spiral phase plate, though the researchers were unable to create pure OAM states, due to the small coherence length of thermal neutrons, a result of their short wavelength and beam divergence. This type of OAM has often been characterized as extrinsic OAM, which refers to the fact that each neutron in the beam has the same OAM with respect to the optical axis of the beam, but has a different intrinsic OAM, that is to say OAM with respect to their respective momentum vector. Some researchers criticize the spiral phase plate method for this reason (for neutrons) claiming that no quantum mechanical OAM is created. Thus new methods for generating OAM in neutrons were developed theoretically.It is predicted that a magnetic quadrupole can be used to create neutron OAM, entangled to the neutron spin (spin-orbit states). In addition to this existing theoretically method, we propose to apply static homogeneous electric field polarized along the direction of particle propagation, to induce longitudinal spin orbit states, as well as a transversely polarized electric field, which generates transverse spin orbit states. Furthermore, linear magnetic gradients lead to the generation of a spin-orbit lattice, thus the purity of these spin-orbit states is larger for macroscopic beam sizes. The main focus of the project lies on the experimental OAM detection performed applying a spin echo instrument. However, if time and personnel resources allow for, further experiments utilizing existing interferometer and polarimeter setups are also considered. Transversal OAM, induced by static electric fields, has not yet been observed in massive free particles. Furthermore, in the field of quantum information OAM would yield an additional degree of freedom for weak measurements and experiments on quantum contextuality. This procedure can enable the future generation of new types of single-particle entangled neutron beams with up to 4 different quantum variables: neutron spin, neutron orbital angular momentum, neutron energy, and neutron position offering applications in quantum information science.

People

Project leader

Institute

Grant funds

  • FWF - Ă–sterr. Wissenschaftsfonds (National) Stand-Alone Project Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

Research focus

  • Quantum Metrology and Precision Measurements: 50%
  • Design and Engineering of Quantum Systems: 50%

Keywords

GermanEnglish
Inteferometerinterferometer
kalte Neutronencold Neutrons
drehimpulsangular momentum

Publications