Nonstationary Diffraction of Ultracold Neutrons from a Moving Grating and Efficiency of Energy Transfer to a Neutron

Abstract

The discrete spectrum of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) diffracting from a moving grating has been measured using a time-of-flight Fourier spectrometer. It is shown that, choosing an appropriate depth of grating profile, one can change significantly the ratio of wave intensities for different diffraction orders. The experimental results are found to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions based on the multiwave dynamical theory of neutron diffraction from a volume periodic grating.