Neutron-multiwave-interference experiments with many resonance coils

Neutron-multiwave-interference phenomena based on Ramsey’s resonance method of ‘‘separated oscillating fields’’ are studied. A neutron passes through N successive resonant coils (\v052mnB0), which flip the neutron spin with a probability r smaller than 1. These coils are separated by path lengths L over which a homogeneous field B1 is present. Because the spin-flip probability r is smaller than 1, the number of waves for a neutron is doubled after each flipper, so as to produce 2 neutron waves at the end of the setup. The phase difference between any pair of waves is a multiple of a ‘‘phase quantum’’ determined by the line integral of the field difference B12B0 over the length L. Highly regular patterns of the quantum-mechanical probability R in (B1 ,r) space appear due to pair interference between individual waves. Possible applications of this phenomenon, such as a direct measurement of n-particle correlation function, are pointed out.