Experimental search for Non-Newtonian forces in the nanometer scale with slow neutrons

Abstract

Improved limits for new gravity-like short-range interactions, in which a scattering potential is modeled by the Yukawa- type parametrization, have been obtained by measuring the angular distribution of 6 Å neutrons scattering from atomic xenon gas. We have collected approximately 1.4 108 small-angle neutron scattering events. The data are interpreted as no evidence of new forces and show improved upper limits on the coupling strength in the interaction range of 0.3?nm to 9?nm. These improved constraints are also interpreted as new limits for a model, in which a charge of the new forces is expressed as a linear combination of the baryon number and the lepton number.