Highly polarized cold neutron beam obtained by using a quadrupole magnet

We performed a cold neutron polarization experiment using a polarization device based on a quadrupole magnet. By passing through the aperture of the quadrupole magnet, positive and negative polarity neutrons are accelerated in opposite directions and spatially separated due to the magnetic field gradient. Then, we extracted the one-spin component and analyzed the polarization degree by using a sextupole magnet and position-sensitive detector. As a result, very high neutron polarization degree P=0.9993±0.0025 was obtained. Advantages of the quadrupole magnet as the neutron polarization device and its application to neutron scattering experiments are discussed.