Experimental Search for Neutron to Mirror Neutron Oscillations as an Explanation of the Neutron Lifetime Anomaly

L. J. Broussard, J. L. Barrow, L. DeBeer-Schmitt, T. Dennis, M. R. Fitzsimmons, M. J. Frost, C. E. Gilbert, F. M. Gonzalez, L. Heilbronn, E. B. Iverson, A. Johnston, Y. Kamyshkov, M. Kline, P. Lewiz, C. Matteson, J. Ternullo, L. Varriano, and S. Vavra
Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 212503 – Published 27 May 2022

Abstract

An unexplained >4σ discrepancy persists between “beam” and “bottle” measurements of the neutron lifetime. A new model proposed that conversions of neutrons n into mirror neutrons n, part of a dark mirror sector, can increase the apparent neutron lifetime by 1% via a small mass splitting Δm between n and n inside the 4.6 T magnetic field of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Beam Lifetime experiment. A search for neutron conversions in a 6.6 T magnetic field was performed at the Spallation Neutron Source which excludes this explanation for the neutron lifetime discrepancy.

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  • Received 11 November 2021
  • Revised 25 March 2022
  • Accepted 4 May 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.212503

© 2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Nuclear PhysicsParticles & Fields

Authors & Affiliations

L. J. Broussard1,*, J. L. Barrow2,†, L. DeBeer-Schmitt1, T. Dennis3, M. R. Fitzsimmons1,2, M. J. Frost1, C. E. Gilbert1, F. M. Gonzalez1, L. Heilbronn4, E. B. Iverson1, A. Johnston2, Y. Kamyshkov2, M. Kline5, P. Lewiz2, C. Matteson2, J. Ternullo2, L. Varriano6, and S. Vavra2

  • 1Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
  • 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee 37614, USA
  • 4Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
  • 5Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
  • 6Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA

  • *broussardlj@ornl.gov
  • Present address: Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA and Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IL 69978, Israel.

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Vol. 128, Iss. 21 — 27 May 2022

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