Related papers: Neutron lifetime beam anomaly and possible explana…
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…
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…
The neutron beta-decay lifetime plays an important role both in understanding weak interactions within the framework of the Standard Model and in theoretical predictions of the primordial abundance of 4He in Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. In…
One method of determining the free neutron lifetime involves the absolute counting of neutrons and trapped decay protons. In such experiments, a cold neutron beam traverses a segmented proton trap inside a superconducting solenoid while the…
Quantum mechanics predicts that the decay rate of unstable systems could be effectively modified by the process of the measurement of the survival probability. Depending on the intrinsic properties of the unstable system and the…
The past two decades have yielded several new measurements and reanalyses of older measurements of the neutron lifetime. These have led to a 4.4 standard deviation discrepancy between the most precise measurements of the neutron decay rate…
Since long neutron lifetimes measured with a beam of cold neutrons are significantly different from lifetimes measured with ultracold neutrons bottled in a trap. It is often speculated that this "neutron anomaly" is due to an exotic dark…
Precision measurements of the free neutron lifetime $\tau_n$, when combined with measurements of the axial vector form factor, can be used to test unitarity of the CKM matrix. Non-unitarity is a signal for physics Beyond the Standard Model…
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…
Different geometries for the neutron lifetime measurements by the method of ultracold neutron storage in material traps and additional possibilities for the neutron storage in the magnetic storage ring are considered.
The analysis of the data on measurements of the neutron lifetime is presented. A new most accurate result of the measurement of neutron lifetime [Phys. Lett. B 605 (2005) 72] 878.5 +/- 0.8 s differs from the world average value [Phys. Lett.…
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…
The puzzle remains in the large discrepancy between neutron lifetime measured by the two distinct experimental approaches -- counts of beta decays in a neutron beam and storage of ultracold neutrons in a potential trap, namely, the beam…
We report an improved measurement of the free neutron lifetime $\tau_{n}$ using the UCN$\tau$ apparatus at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. We counted a total of approximately $38\times10^{6}$ surviving ultracold neutrons (UCN) after…
There is a long-standing discrepancy between the neutron lifetime measured in beam and bottle experiments. We propose to explain this anomaly by a dark decay channel for the neutron, involving one or more dark sector particles in the final…
The existing discrepancy between neutron lifetime measurements in bottle and beam experiments has been interpreted as a sign of the neutron decaying to dark particles. We summarize the current status of this proposal, including a discussion…
The most accurate neutron lifetime measurements now use the material or magnetic traps of ultracold neutrons (UCN). The precision of these experiments is determined by the accuracy of estimating the neutron loss rate. In material UCN traps…
There exists a puzzling disagreement between the results for the neutron lifetime obtained in experiments using the beam technique versus those relying on the bottle method. A possible explanation of this discrepancy postulates the…
In a variety of neutron lifetime experiments, in addition to $\beta-$decay, neutrons can be lost by other mechanisms including wall losses. Failure to account for these other loss mechanisms produces systematic measurement error and…
The neutron lifetime, $\tau$ = 880.2 $\pm$ 1.0 sec , is an important parameter for particle physics and cosmology. There is, however, an 8.4 sec (4.0$\,\sigma$) deviation between the measured value of the neutron lifetime using two methods…