Proof-of-principle experiment on a displacement-noise-free neutron interferometer for gravitational wave detection
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. 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.
Authors
- Seiji Kawamura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0841-4529)
- Yuta Michimura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2218-4002)
- K. Mishima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8328-543X)
- Masaaki Kitaguchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7637-6467)
- Tomohiro Ishikawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5708-1310)
- Takuhiro Fujiie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0688-580X)
- Takafumi Onishi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0156-5192)
- K. Kokeyama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2896-1992)
- T. Nambu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8894-3696)
- Kazuhiro Kobayashi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7801-147X)
- Shoki Iwaguchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0851-8205)
- A. Nishizawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3562-0990)
- Hirohiko M. Shimizu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8767-6542)
- Kurumi Umemura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4465-960X)
- Yutaka Yamagata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5210-0503)
- Kenji Tsuji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4533-8088)
Institutions
- Hiroshima University (JP)
- Obayashi (Japan) (JP)
- Rikkyo University (JP)
- High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (JP)
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (JP)
- RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics (JP)
- Nagoya University (JP)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- Cardiff University (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Published
- 2025-11-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/yg4l-cj1t
- Primary Topic
- Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00