EFFECTIVE-MASS ENHANCED DEFLECTION OF NEUTRONS IN NONINERTIAL FRAMES

We report the deflection of neutrons by a Coriolis force inside a slowly rotating Si crystal (L10 cm). At an angular velocity of 5.4×10-3 rad/s we observe a deflection as high as ±5.5 mm due to the minute effective mass of a neutron propagating under diffraction conditions in a crystal. This deflection is enhanced by more than 5 orders of magnitude over the expected deflection in free space. Remarkable features of the effect are that the trajectories of the neutrons are curved even in a nonrotating frame and that the neutrons with negative effective mass are deflected away from the force. © 1995 The American Physical Society.