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Quantum interferometric probe of neutron-hidden neutron oscillations

A. Capolupo1,*, G. Pisacane1,†, A. Quaranta2,‡, and P. Böni3,§

  • *Contact author: capolupo@sa.infn.it
  • †Contact author: gpisacane@unisa.it
  • ‡Contact author: aniello.quaranta@unicam.it
  • §Contact author: peter.boeni@tum.de
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 095021 – Published 10 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/fbh9-chx7

Abstract

The nature of dark matter remains an outstanding problem in particle physics and cosmology. Hidden-sector extensions of the Standard Model predict a neutral partner of the neutron, whose weak mixing with ordinary neutrons induces oscillations between visible and dark baryonic states. We propose and analyze a macroscopic quantum interferometric strategy that could provide a direct and experimentally accessible probe of this phenomenon. In particular, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with very cold neutrons converts neutron–hidden neutron oscillations into measurable phase-dependent intensity modulations. By combining controlled phase shifts with tunable magnetic fields and material potentials, the setup enables a resonant exploration of the hidden-sector parameter space. Under representative experimental conditions on neutron flux, magnetic-field homogeneity, vertical-aperture and beam-overlap control in the presence of gravity, and interferometric stability, the expected reach extends to mixing amplitudes down to εnn′∼10−14  eV for mass splittings δm∼10−9  eV, accessing a previously unexplored region of parameter space and relevant to baryonic dark matter scenarios. These results suggest that neutron interferometry may become a precision laboratory tool for testing hidden-sector physics.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 095021– Published 10 November, 2026
  • Received 11 May 2026
  • Revised 9 September 2026
  • Accepted 19 October 2026
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