$e^{+}e^{-}$ pairs from a nuclear transition signaling an elusive light neutral boson

A. Krasznahorkay; F. W. N. de Boer; M. Csatlós; L. Csige; Z. Gácsi; J. Gulyás; M. Hunyadi; T. J. Ketel; J. van Klinken; A. Krasznahorkay; A. Vitéz

doi:10.1063/1.2140659

$e^{+}e^{-}$ pairs from a nuclear transition signaling an elusive light neutral boson

High Energy Physics - Experiment 2009-11-11 v1

Authors: A. Krasznahorkay , F. W. N. de Boer , M. Csatlós , L. Csige , Z. Gácsi , J. Gulyás , M. Hunyadi , T. J. Ketel , J. van Klinken , A. Krasznahorkay , A. Vitéz

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Abstract

Electron-positron pairs have been observed in the 10.95-MeV $0^-\to0^+$ decay in $^{16}$ O. The branching ratio of the e $^+$ e $^-$ pairs compared to the 3.84-MeV $0^-\to2^+$ $\gamma$ decay of the level is deduced to be $20(5)\times10^{-5}$ . This magnetic monopole (M0) transition cannot proceed by $\gamma$ -ray decay and is, to first order, forbidden for internal pair creation. However, the transition may also proceed by the emission of a light neutral $0^{-}$ or $1^{+}$ boson. Indeed, we do observe a sharp peak in the $e^{+}e^{-}$ angular correlation with all the characteristics belonging to the intermediate emission of such a boson with an invariant mass of 8.5(5) MeV/c $^2$ . It may play a role in the current quest for light dark matter in the universe.

Keywords

electron-positron pairs nuclear transition light neutral boson magnetic monopole dark matter

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@article{arxiv.hep-ex/0510054,
  title  = {$e^{+}e^{-}$ pairs from a nuclear transition signaling an elusive light neutral boson},
  author = {A. Krasznahorkay and F. W. N. de Boer and M. Csatlós and L. Csige and Z. Gácsi and J. Gulyás and M. Hunyadi and T. J. Ketel and J. van Klinken and A. Krasznahorkay and A. Vitéz},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:hep-ex/0510054},
  year   = {2009}
}

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6 pages

$e^{+}e^{-}$ pairs from a nuclear transition signaling an elusive light neutral boson

Abstract

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