Toward a Quantum Information Foundation for Neutron Scattering

Abstract

Neutron scattering is a central probe of quantum materials, yet what quantum information can, in principle, be extracted from a scattering experiment remains unclear. Here we formulate neutron scattering as a quantum measurement, with the scattering amplitudes acting as Kraus operators on the material state. This provides a unified description of conventional intensity, coherent scattering, interferometric measurements, and entanglement witnesses, including those based on quantum Fisher information. We then ask how far this connection can be extended to nonlinear properties of a quantum state. For two independently prepared samples, we derive the general structure of probe-mediated measurement probabilities and show that, for spin-projection-conserving dynamics, low-order scattering cannot resolve certain many-body coherences required to determine purity. Conversely, an idealized single-spin protocol shows how probe-mediated exchange can access purity when the appropriate two-copy operation is realized. Our results establish a quantum-information description of neutron scattering and delineate the information accessible through conventional and interferometric measurements.