Precision measurement of the n-3He incoherent scattering length using neutron interferometry

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 May 22;102(20):200401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.200401. Epub 2009 May 18.

Abstract

We report the first measurement of the low-energy neutron-(3)He incoherent scattering length using neutron interferometry: b_{i};{'} = (-2.512 +/- 0.012 stat +/- 0.014 syst) fm. This is in good agreement with a recent calculation using the AV18 + 3N potential. The neutron-(3)He scattering lengths are important for testing and developing nuclear potential models that include three-nucleon forces, effective field theories for few-body nuclear systems, and neutron scattering measurements of quantum excitations in liquid helium. This work demonstrates the first use of a polarized nuclear target in a neutron interferometer.