Low-contrast and low-counting-rate measurements in neutron interferometry

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Abstract
Here we discuss the limits of the recognizability of neutron interference patterns either observed in low-contrast measurements or when collecting very few neutrons only. Low contrast can be caused by a strong beam attenuation or by a large phase shift applied to one beam path. Stochastic and deterministic cases have different influences on the interference pattern, which can be interpreted as a different wavelike or particlelike behavior of the system. Measurements of interference patterns with very few neutrons only are related to the phase–particle-number uncertainty relation, which is discussed on the basis of stochastic and quantum theory arguments. Analogies between coherent-state behavior known in atomic physics and the behavior of neutrons in an interferometer are discussed also.

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