Search for exotic spin-dependent couplings of the neutron with matter using spin-echo based neutron interferometry
Steven R. Parnell, A.A. van Well, Jeroen Plomp, Robert M. Dalgliesh, Nina‐Juliane Steinke, Joshaniel F. K. Cooper, Niels Geerits, K. Steffen, W. M. Snow, V.O. de Haan
Abstract
Various theories beyond the Standard Model predict new particles with masses in the sub-eV range with very weak couplings to ordinary matter which can possess spin-dependent couplings to electrons and nucleons. We report null results of a search for possible exotic spin-dependent couplings of the neutron which could be induced by the exchange of light weakly coupled bosons or spin-gravity coupling conducted using a spin-echo neutron spectrometer. We constrain the products ${g}_{A}^{2}$ and ${g}_{A}{g}_{V}$ of the axial vector coupling of the neutron to the matter of the Earth through the exchange of a weakly coupled vector boson for force ranges between the metre scale and the radius of the Earth. We also constrain the constants in some theories of exotic spin-gravity couplings.