Speaker
Description
Neutron grating interferometers are powerful tools for high-precision measurements of deflection angles and scattering. A novel symmetric Talbot-Lau interferometer, utilizing three identical absorption gratings in a time-of-flight mode, is currently under development at the University of Bern. The ultimate goal of this project is to conduct a sensitive measurement of the neutron electric charge and improve the current upper limit: Qn < (-0.4+/-1.1) * 10^-21 e [Baumann, 1988]. A proof-of-principle apparatus has been characterized at the cold neutron beamline PF1b at the Laue-Langevin Institute in Grenoble, France. A general description of the setup, alignment procedures and initial findings regarding the setup stability and neutron electric charge measurements will be presented.
