Abstract
An unexplained discrepancy persists between “beam” and “bottle” measurements of the neutron lifetime. A new model proposed that conversions of neutrons into mirror neutrons , part of a dark mirror sector, can increase the apparent neutron lifetime by 1% via a small mass splitting between and 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.
- 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