Related papers: Experimental limits on the proton life-time from t…
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…
We report a new measurement of the neutron decay lifetime by the absolute counting of in-beam neutrons and their decay protons. Protons were confined in a quasi-Penning trap and counted with a silicon detector. The neutron beam fluence was…
The next-generation water Cherenkov Hyper-Kamiokande detector will be able to detect thousands of neutrino events from a galactic Supernova explosion via Inverse Beta Decay processes followed by neutron capture on Gadolinium. This superb…
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…
Data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory have been used to constrain the lifetime for nucleon decay to ``invisible'' modes, such as n -> 3 nu. The analysis was based on a search for gamma-rays from the de-excitation of the residual…
Accurate measurement of the lifetime of the neutron (which is unstable to beta decay) is important for understanding the weak nuclear force and the creation of matter during the Big Bang. Previous measurements of the neutron lifetime have…
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…
This paper reports results from a search for nucleon decay through 'invisible' modes, where no visible energy is directly deposited during the decay itself, during the initial water phase of SNO+. However, such decays within the oxygen…
A measurement of the neutron lifetime $\tau_{n}$ performed by the absolute counting of in-beam neutrons and their decay protons has been completed. Protons confined in a quasi-Penning trap were accelerated onto a silicon detector held at a…
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…
We searched for bound neutron decay via $n\to\bar{\nu}+K^0$ predicted by the Grand Unified Theories in 0.401 Mton$\cdot$years exposure of all pure water phases in the Super-Kamiokande detector. About 4.4 times more data than in the previous…
The precise value of the mean neutron lifetime, $\tau_n$, plays an important role in nuclear and particle physics and cosmology. It is a key input for predicting the ratio of protons to helium atoms in the primordial universe and is used to…
Since neutrinos have mass differences, they could decay into one another. But their lifetimes are likely long, even when shortened by new physics, so decay likely impacts neutrinos only during long trips. This makes high-energy…
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…
We searched for proton decay via $p\to\mu^+K^0$ in 0.37\,Mton$\cdot$years of data collected between 1996 and 2018 from the Super-Kamiokande water Cherenkov experiment. The selection criteria were defined separately for $K^0_S$ and $K^0_L$…
The neutron lifetime is determined for now most accurately by two methods --the so-called "beam method" and the method of neutron storage in a trap. The goal of this research is to obtain the neutron lifetime with a higher precision by…
The most precise determination of the neutron lifetime using the beam method was completed in 2005 and reported a result of $\tau_n = (886.3 \pm 1.2 [\textrm{stat}] \pm 3.2 [\textrm{syst}])$ s. The dominant uncertainties were attributed to…
We have searched for nucleon decay into five two-body final states using a 4.4 kiloton-year fiducial exposure of the Soudan 2 iron tracking calorimeter. For proton decay into the fully visible final states mu+ eta and e+ eta, we observe…
In a neutron lifetime experiment conducted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, protons produced by neutron decay events are confined in a Penning trap. In each run of the experiment, there is a trapping stage of duration…
We present results of a search for proton decays, $p \to \bar{\nu} K^+$, using data from a 33 kton$\cdot$year exposure of the Super-Kamiokande detector. Two decay modes of the kaon, $K^+ \to \mu^+ \nu_{\mu}$ and $K^+ \to \pi^+ \pi^0$, were…