Related papers: How fast can protons decay?
It is possible that the proton is stable while atomic hydrogen is not. This is the case in models with new particles carrying baryon number which are light enough to be stable themselves but heavy enough so that proton decay is…
Yes, the photon. While a nonzero photon mass has been under experimental and theoretical study for years, the possible implication of a finite photon lifetime lacks discussion. The tight experimental upper bound of the photon mass restricts…
We consider proton decay in theories that contain large extra dimensions. If virtual black hole states are allowed by the theory, as is generally the case, then proton decay can proceed via virtual black holes. The experimental limits on…
Proton decay is a hypothetical form of particle decay in which protons are assumed to decay into lighter particles. This form of decay has yet to be detected. In this contribution to the proceedings of Neutrino 2022, we review the current…
Deep underground in Kolar Gold Fields, in southern India, an experiment to detect proton decay had been carried out since the end of 1980. Analysis of data yielded the following results; (l) the life time of proton is about 1 x 1031 years,…
An experimental observation of proton decay would be a spectacular proof of grand unification. Currently, the best constraint on the proton lifetime for the p->e+ pi0 decay channel, coming from the Super-Kamiokande experiment, reaches…
Semi-simple unification is one of a model which naturally solves two difficulties in the supersymmetric grand unification theory: doublet-triplet splitting problem and suppression of dimension 5 proton decay. We analyzed the dimension 6…
The precise value of the neutron lifetime is of fundamental importance to particle physics and cosmology. The neutron lifetime recently obtained, 878.5 +/- 0.7stat +/- 0.3sys s, is the most accurate one to date. The new result for the…
The long baseline between the Earth and the Sun makes solar neutrinos an excellent test beam for exploring possible neutrino decay. The signature of such decay would be an energy-dependent distortion of the traditional survival probability…
Since the main experimentally testable prediction of grand unified theories is the instability of the proton, precise determination of the proton lifetime for each particular model is desirable. Unfortunately, the corresponding computation…
We discuss the status of supersymmetric grand unified theories [SUSY GUTs] with regards to the observation of proton decay. In this talk we focus on SUSY GUTs in 4 dimensions. We outline the major theoretical uncertainties present in the…
The bound on the proton lifetime is one of a small handful of observations that constrains physics not far from the Planck scale. This calls for a calculation of the proton lifetime in quantum gravity. Here, we calculate how quantum…
It is well known and well established by scientific observation that a free neutron radioactively decays into a proton plus an electron plus an anti-neutrino with a mean life time before decay of about 900 seconds. That established fact…
Dark matter charged under a new gauge sector, as motivated by recent data, suggests a rich GeV-scale "dark sector" weakly coupled to the Standard Model by gauge kinetic mixing. The new gauge bosons can decay to Standard Model leptons, but…
Current observations of the fraction of dark energy and a lower limit on its tension, coupled with an assumption of the non-convexity of the dark energy potential, are used to derive a lower limit of 26 billion years for the future age of…
If dark matter (DM) is unstable, in order to be present today, its lifetime needs to be longer than the age of the Universe, t_U ~ 4 10^{17} s. It is usually assumed that if DM decays it would do it with some strength through a radiative…
We have searched for proton decay via p -> e+ pi0 using data from a 25.5 kton-year exposure of the Super-Kamiokande detector. We find no candidate events with an expected background induced by atmospheric neutrinos of 0.1 events. From these…
A search for proton decay into three charged leptons has been performed by using 0.37$\,$Mton$\cdot$years of data collected in Super-Kamiokande. All possible combinations of electrons, muons and their anti-particles consistent with charge…
The Earth's ring current is highly dynamic and is strongly influenced by the solar wind. The ring current alters the planet's magnetic field, defining geomagnetic storms. In this study, we investigate the decay timescales of ring current…
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…