0000000000326656
AUTHOR
Alexander Westphal
Quantum motion of a neutron in a wave-guide in the gravitational field
We study theoretically the quantum motion of a neutron in a horizontal waveguide in the gravitational field of the Earth. The waveguide in question is equipped with a mirror below and a rough surface absorber above. We show that such a system acts as a quantum filter, i.e. it effectively absorbs quantum states with sufficiently high transversal energy but transmits low-energy states. The states transmitted are determined mainly by the potential well formed by the gravitational field of the Earth and the mirror. The formalism developed for quantum motion in an absorbing waveguide is applied to the description of the recent experiment on the observation of the quantum states of neutrons in th…
Reply to Comment on Measurement of quantum states of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field
Physical review / D 68(10), 108702 (2003). doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.68.108702
Measurement of quantum states of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field
The lowest stationary quantum state of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field is identified in the measurement of neutron transmission between a horizontal mirror on the bottom and an absorber/scatterer on top. Such an assembly is not transparent for neutrons if the absorber height is smaller than the ``height'' of the lowest quantum state.