Nanoparticles as a possible moderator for an ultracold neutron source

Abstract

Ultracold and very cold neutrons (UCN and VCN) interact strongly with nanoparticles due to the similarity of their wavelengths and nanoparticles sizes. We analyze the hypothesis that this interaction can provide efficient cooling of neutrons by ultracold nanoparticles at certain experimental conditions, thus increasing the density of UCN by many orders of magnitude. The present analytical and numerical description of the problem is limited to the model of independent nanoparticles at zero temperature. Constraints of application of this model are discussed