Related papers: Neutron Dark Matter Decays
An unexplained $>4\,\sigma$ 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…
A model of $n-n'$ (neutron-mirror neutron) oscillations is proposed under the framework of the mirror matter theory with slightly broken mirror symmetry. It resolves the neutron lifetime discrepancy, i.e., the 1% difference in neutron…
The ``neutron lifetime puzzle'' arises from the discrepancy between neutron lifetime measurements obtained using the beam method, which measures decay products, and the bottle method, which measures the disappearance of neutrons. To resolve…
The review of experimental measurements of neutron lifetime is presented. Latest measurements with gravitational trap (PNPI NRC KI) and magnetic trap (LANL, USA) confirmed the result obtained by PNPI group in 2005. The results of…
Neutron dark decays have been suggested as a solution to the discrepancy between bottle and beam experiments, providing a dark matter candidate that can be searched for in halo nuclei. The free neutron in the final state following the decay…
It was recently suggested that the discrepancy between two methods of measuring the lifetime of the neutron may be a result of an unseen decay mode into a dark matter particle which is almost degenerate with the neutron. We explore the…
The neutron lifetime is important in understanding the production of light nuclei in the first minutes after the big bang and it provides basic information on the charged weak current of the standard model of particle physics. Two different…
Neutron lifetime is a critical parameter in the Standard Model. Its measurements using, particularly, the beamline and ultracold neutron storage techniques reveals serious tension. The status of the tension between various measurements have…
Motivated by the neutron decay anomaly, we reconsider the neutron decay model $n \rightarrow \chi\chi\chi$, where the new species $\chi$ plays the role of dark matter. We precisely compute the $\bar{\chi} n \rightarrow \chi\chi$ rate…
Measurements of the lifetime of neutrons trapped in a bottle have been consistently shorter than the lifetime measured in neutron beam experiments. With trapping potentials as low as 50 neV and neutron detectors located only at the top of…
It is possible that the strongest interactions between dark matter and the Standard Model occur via the neutrino sector. Unlike gamma rays and charged particles, neutrinos provide a unique avenue to probe for astrophysical sources of dark…
We revisit the neutron lifetime puzzle, a discrepancy between beam and bottle measurements of the weak neutron decay. Since both types of measurements are realized at different times after the nuclear production of free neutrons, we argue…
The manuscript by Berezhiani (arXiv:1812.11089) proposes a model that has the neutron decaying into a mirror neutron with a branching fraction of 1%, alleviating the tension between neutron lifetime measurements in beam vs bottle…
Recent theoretical work has explored dark matter accumulation in the Earth and its drift towards the center of the Earth that, for the current age of the Earth, does not necessarily result in a concentration of dark matter ($\chi$) in the…
Dark matter decays into invisible particles can leave an imprint in large-scale structure surveys due to a characteristic redshift-dependent suppression of the power spectrum. We present a model with two quasi-degenerate singlet fermions,…
This paper reviews the puzzles in modern neutron lifetime measurements and related unitarity issues in the CKM matrix. It is not a comprehensive and unbiased compilation of all historic data and studies, but rather a focus on compelling…
A neutron decays into a proton, an electron, and an anti-neutrino through the beta-decay process. The decay lifetime ($\sim$880 s) is an important parameter in the weak interaction. For example, the neutron lifetime is a parameter used to…
The amount of decaying dark matter, accumulated in the central regions in neutron stars together with the energy deposition rate from decays, may set a limit on the neutron star survival rate against transitions to more compact objects…
Experimental studies of neutron decay, $n\to pe\bar\nu$, exhibit two anomalies. The first is a 8.6(2.1)s, roughly $4\sigma$ difference between the average beam measured neutron lifetime, $\tau_n^\text{beam}=888.0(2.0)$s, and the more…
We demonstrate that the observation of neutron stars with masses greater than one solar mass places severe demands on any exotic neutron decay mode that could explain the discrepancy between beam and bottle measurements of the neutron…