Loss-free neutron polarization

Full text: The so-called concept of 'dynamical' neutron polarization should allow to polarize a beam of thermal or cold neutrons without loosing even one particle. It is based upon the spin-dependent energy splitting of monochromatic neutrons in a NMR-like arrangement of crossed static and oscillating magnetic fields, which causes different interaction times of the two opposite spin states with a subsequent static precession field. If this Larmor rotation is stopped at the moment when the two states are oriented parallel to a given direction, the beam will be fully polarized, on the cost of a tiny energy difference between the two states, however. At pulsed neutron sources this method should even allow loss-free polarization of polychromatic neutrons, if by a suitably chosen time dependence of either the precession or the splitting field the flight-time dispersion of the particles is adequately taken into account. However, until now this quite sophisticated method has not been realized experimentally. We have performed detailed analytical and numerical simulations of such a dynamical polarization facility for pulsed neutron beams in order to proof its feasibility. It turns out that the required space and time dependence of the magnetic fields involved are well within the scope of existing magnet technology. Ref. 1 (author)