Experimental limit for the charge of the free neutron
- 1 June 1982
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 25 (11), 2887-2894
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.25.2887
Abstract
The neutron charge has been measured to be electron charges at a confidence level of 90%. This value lowers the known limit by two orders of magnitude. In the experiment, slow neutrons of 20-Å wavelength passed a strong electric field of 10-m length. The deflection of the neutron beam was measured with respect to reversal of the field. For an increase in sensitivity the beam was focused by a neutron lens to a sharp image in the detector plane. Over a long run time the deflection of the neutron beam due to the electric field was less than 2× μm. The result on the neutron charge is in agreement with the commonly accepted neutrality of the neutron. The implications of a hypothetical neutron charge are discussed and an improved apparatus is proposed which could lower the limit on the free neutron's charge by up to two orders of magnitude.
Keywords
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