Related papers: From Commissioning to Precision Data-Taking: Resol…
Precision measurements in nuclear beta decay offer a sensitive window to search for new physics beyond the standard electroweak model and allow also the determination of the fundamental weak vector coupling in processes involving the…
A complete review of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix elements and of the experimental methods for their determination is presented. A critical analysis of the relevant experimental results, and in particular of the most recent…
We compute radiative corrections to the superallowed $\beta$ decay of $^{10}{\rm C}$ in an effective field theory approach using nuclear matrix elements obtained from quantum Monte Carlo calculations. These corrections are an important…
A new critical survey is presented of all half-life, decay-energy and branching-ratio measurements related to 20 0+ to 0+ beta decays. Compared with our last review, there are numerous improvements: First, we have added 27 recently…
The UCNA experiment was designed to measure the neutron $\beta$-asymmetry parameter $A_0$ using polarized ultracold neutrons (UCN). UCN produced via downscattering in solid deuterium were polarized via transport through a 7 T magnetic…
Precision experiments at low energies probing weak interaction are a very promising and complementary tool for investigating the structure of the electro-weak sector of the standard model, and for searching for new phenomena revealing signs…
We review the highlights of quark mixing, particle-antiparticle mixing, CP violation and rare K- and B-decays in the Standard Model. The top quark discovery, the precise measurement of its mass, the improved knowledge of the couplings…
Precision tests of first-row unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix currently display two intriguing tensions, both at the $3\sigma$ level. First, combining determinations of $V_{ud}$ from superallowed $\beta$ decays with…
The matrix element \Vud of the CKM matrix can be determined by two independent measurements in neutron decay: the neutron lifetime $\tau_n$ and the ratio of coupling constants $\lambda=g_A/g_V$, which is most precisely determined by…
The experimental determination of V_{ud} from neutron beta decay requires accurate values of the neutron lifetime and the ratio of the weak axial-vector to vector coupling constants of the nucleon. The latter is derived from measurements of…
We use the exclusive baryonic $B$ decays to determine the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix element $V_{ub}$. From the relation $|V_{ub}|^2/|V_{cb}|^2=({\cal B}_\pi/{\cal B}_D){\cal R}_{ff}$ based on $B^-\to p\bar p \pi^-$ and $\bar…
The electromagnetic structure of the nucleon can be determined from the scattering of electrons off a nucleon target. However, to study its axial structure, neutrino beams are required. The results from these experiments should be…
The first direct, model-independent measurement is presented of the modulus of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix elements $|V_\mathrm{tb}|$, $|V_\mathrm{td}|$, and $|V_\mathrm{ts}|$, in final states enriched in single top quark…
We present a measurement of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix element |Vcb| using a 10.2 fb^{-1} data sample recorded at the \Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e^+e^- storage ring. By…
This article surveys the important questions attached to unitarity tests of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix, with a focus on the direct determinations of the magnitude of CKM matrix elements. The current CKM anomalies are discussed and…
The first measurement of the magnitude of the CKM quark mixing matrix element $|V_{cb}|$ using on-shell $W$-boson decays is presented. The measurement is made with $t\bar{t}$ events from $pp$ collision data corresponding to an integrated…
Phases of elements of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix can be obtained using decays of $B$ mesons to $\pi^+ \pi^-$, $\pi^\pm K^\mp$, and $\pi^+ K^0$ or $\pi^- \overline{K}^0$. For $B^0~{\rm or}~ \overline{B}^0 \to \pi^+ \pi^-$,…
There is a well known anomaly between the value of the Fermi decay constant extracted from super-allowed Fermi beta-decay of nuclear isotriplets and that required by unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix. This discrepancy…
Precision measurements of neutron properties, like its permanent electric dipole moment, rely on understanding complex experimental setups in detail. We show how the properties of stored and transported ultracold neutron ensembles can be…
The role of simple quantum mechanics in understanding neutrino oscillation experiments is pointed out by comparison with two-slit and Bragg scattering experiments. The importance of considering the beam and the detector as a correlated…