Design of a pulsed spatial neutron magnetic spin resonator

It is well known that upon passage through a spatially alternating transverse magnetic field, produced by a meander-shaped conducting foil, in its rest frame each neutron creates its individual frequency which depends on its velocity and the period of the meander. A resonant spin flip process takes place, if this frequency equals the Larmor frequency determined by a homogeneous vertical field. Clearly, this effect can be used to monochromatise a polarised neutron beam. Here we propose a novel design of such a magnetic resonator consisting of a sequence of separate compact modules, which provide high homogeneity of the transversal field oscillations and allow rapid beam chopping since they meet the specifications of fast electronic switching. The wavelength resolution of this resonator device can be changed in an instant and likewise an arbitrary amplitude modulation of the transversal field can be established, which is required for an efficient suppression of subsidiary maxima of the wavelength-dependent spin flip probability.