Proof-of-Principle Experiment on a Displacement-Noise-Free Neutron Interferometer for Gravitational Wave Detection
Abstract
The displacement-noise-free interferometer (DFI) is designed to eliminate all displacement-induced noise while retaining sensitivity to gravitational wave (GW) signals. Ground-based DFIs suffer from physical arm-length limitations, resulting in poor sensitivity at frequencies below 1 kHz. To address this, previous research introduced a neutron-based DFI, which replaces laser light with neutrons and achieves exceptional sensitivity down to a few hertz. In this study, we conducted a proof-of-principle experiment using a pulsed neutron source at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J- PARC). Despite practical constraints that led to deviations from the ideal experimental design, we optimized the setup and developed a novel analysis method that successfully cancels displacement noise while preserving simulated GW signals. This work presents the first successful demonstration of a neutron DFI and a neutron interferometer for GW detection.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2505.17146,
title = {Proof-of-Principle Experiment on a Displacement-Noise-Free Neutron Interferometer for Gravitational Wave Detection},
author = {Shoki Iwaguchi and Takuhiro Fujiie and Taro Nambu and Masaaki Kitaguchi and Yutaka Yamagata and Kenji Mishima and Atsushi Nishizawa and Tomohiro Ishikawa and Kenji Tsuji and Kurumi Umemura and Kazuhiro Kobayashi and Takafumi Onishi and Keiko Kokeyama and Hirohiko Shimizu and Yuta Michimura and Seiji Kawamura},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.17146},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
20 pages, 41 figures