Comment on “Measurement of quantum states of neutrons in the Earth’s gravitational field”

Johan Hansson, David Olevik, Christian Türk, and Hanna Wiklund
Phys. Rev. D 68, 108701 – Published 18 November 2003
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Abstract

In the paper by Nesvizhevsky et al. [Phys. Rev. D 67, 102002 (2003)], it is argued that the lowest quantum state of neutrons in the Earth’s gravitational field has been experimentally identified. While this is most likely correct, it is imperative to investigate all alternative explanations of the result in order to close all loopholes, as it is the first experiment ever claimed to have observed gravitational quantum states. Here we show that geometrical effects in the experimental setup can mimic the results attributed to gravity. Modifications of the experimental setup to close these possible loopholes are suggested.

  • Received 4 June 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.68.108701

©2003 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Johan Hansson*, David Olevik, Christian Türk, and Hanna Wiklund

  • Department of Physics, Luleå University of Technology, SE-971 87 Luleå, Sweden

  • *Corresponding author. Email address: hansson@mt.luth.se

Comments & Replies

Reply to “Comment on ‘Measurement of quantum states of neutrons in the Earth’s gravitational field’ ”

V. V. Nesvizhevsky, A. K. Petoukhov, H. G. Börner, K. V. Protasov, A. Yu. Voronin, A. Westphal, S. Baessler, H. Abele, and A. M. Gagarski
Phys. Rev. D 68, 108702 (2003)

Original Article

Measurement of quantum states of neutrons in the Earth’s gravitational field

V. V. Nesvizhevsky, H. G. Börner, A. M. Gagarski, A. K. Petoukhov, G. A. Petrov, H. Abele, S. Baeßler, G. Divkovic, F. J. Rueß, Th. Stöferle, A. Westphal, A. V. Strelkov, K. V. Protasov, and A. Yu. Voronin
Phys. Rev. D 67, 102002 (2003)

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Vol. 68, Iss. 10 — 15 November 2003

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