Neutron Scattering on Impurity Nanoclusters in Gel Samples

Abstract

Results of recent SANS experiments with impurity-helium gel (IHG) samples in He-II are presented. We estimate the mean size of the impurity nanoparticles that form the frame of the IHG samples and discuss the possibility to use IHG samples for the production of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) in He-II cooled to the temperature of a few mK, as well as the reflection of UCNs at any temperature. Our results indicate that the most promising materials for these purposes might be the heavy water gel samples with the mean sizes of D2O clusters of d~8 nm and the heavy alcohol gel samples with the mean sizes of clusters of d~15 nm.