Generation and detection of spin-orbit coupled neutron beams

Significance Extensive interest has been placed on the techniques to prepare and characterize optical and matter wave orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams and spin correlated OAM beams. They have been shown to be useful in a wide range of applications such as microscopy, quantum information processing, material characterization, and communication protocols. Here we demonstrate an observation of spin-orbit beams and lattices of spin-orbit beams with neutrons. Neutrons, which do not possess a charge and have significant mass, are probes of nature that are complementary to photons and electrons. The techniques shown here enable neutron OAM applications in material characterization and fundamental physics.