In addition to studying the spectral modifications induced by the particle-surface interaction, the high detectability of such particles permits measurements of their recoil momentum. This in turn provides additional insight into their dynamical interaction with the nanodroplet. Other experimental projects underway in Prof. Northby's laboratory include the development of beam sources of metastable helium molecules, and the development of a laser based sediment velocimeter that can be used to study sediment concentration and motion in natural waters. Tony Nunes works in experimental condensed matter physics and neutron physics, specializing in the fields of neutron scattering and x-ray scattering. Prof. Nunes is a former student of Prof. Clifford G. Shull of MIT who was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize in physics for his pioneering development of neutron diffraction physics.
Neutron diffraction provides an indispensible probe of condensed matter.
Prof. Nunes studies magnetism in nanoparticles and surfaces. This and the magnetoelasticity of the lattice may, at least in part, account for the magnetic anomaly. Prof. Suren Malik and Prof. Due to this property, the UCN can be stored in special UCN traps for hundreds of seconds. Prof. Steyerl's research is focused on the details of the UCN-wall interaction and specifically on the question why the measured storage losses always seem to exceed the theoretical values.