Neutron interferometry investigation of the Aharonov-Casher effect

Abstract

This paper describes our progress on a neutron interferometry search for the Aharonov-Casher (A-C) effect. Unpolarized neutrons are passed through a 40 kV/mm vacuum electrode system. The spin-dependent phase is set to maximum sensitivity with a magnetic field, and the spin-independent phase is adjusted to zero (modulo 2π) using the Earth's gravitational field. Upon reversal of the electric field, the predicted A-C phase shift is 0.2°. Currently, our results are statistically limited.