Abstract
New neutron-optics effects, which were predicted and discovered quite recently in noncen- trosymmetric crystals and which can be used to study the fundamental properties of the neutron, are discussed. In particular, strong electric fields of strength up to 10 8 or 10 9 V/cm may act in such crystals on the neutron, and this provides new possibilities for measuring the neutron electric dipole moment (EDM) by the crystal-diffraction method. It also becomes possible to perform searches for pseudomagnetic forces acting on neutrons and violating CP invariance. For the range of such forces that satisfies the condition λA < 10 −5 cm, the best constraints on the product of the scalar and pseudoscalar coupling constants have already been obtained for the interaction induced by the exchange of a light pseudoscalar (axion-like) particle. The present-day status and prospects of neutron-optics crystal-diffraction experiments aimed at searches for the neutron EDM and pseudomagnetic forces are considered.
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