Published August 1, 2003 | Version v1
Journal article

Comparison of electron and neutron Compton scattering from entangled protons in a solid polymer

  • 1. Institute of Chemistry, Stranski-Laboratory, Technical University of Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 112, D-10623 Berlin (Germany)
  • 2. Atomic and Molecular Physics Laboratories, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)
  • 3. ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)
  • 4. Physics Laboratory, The University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR (United Kingdom)

Description

We present, for the first time, a direct comparison between electron (ECS) and neutron (NCS) Compton scattering results from protons of a solid polymer. The momentum distributions of hydrogen obtained from ECS and NCS are in excellent agreement. In both experiments, a strong 'anomalous' shortfall in the scattering intensity of protons {first detected in liquid water with NCS [C. A. Chatzidimitriou-Dreismann et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 2839 (1997)]} is found ranging from about 20% up to 50%, depending on the momentum transfer applied. The characteristic times of electron- and neutron-proton collisions lie in the subfemtosecond range. The presented ECS and NCS results provide further direct evidence for this striking effect, which has been ascribed to attosecond quantum entanglement of the protons

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review Letters
Journal Volume
91
Journal Issue
5
Journal Page Range
p. 057403-057403.4
ISSN
0031-9007
CODEN
PRLTAO

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2003 The American Physical Society