Related papers: Possible solution to basic problems regarding the …
We illustrate that both of massless pseudoscalar meson fields and constitutent quark fields are dynamical field degrees of freedom in energy region between chiral symmetry spontaneously broken scale and quark confinement scale. This…
We compute $\beta$-decay half-lives of isotonic nuclear chains located at neutron shell closures $N=50$, $82$, $126$ and $184$, which are of particular importance for the $r$-process nucleosynthesis, and study the role of first-forbidden…
A modified neutrino sector could imprint a signature on precision measurements of the quark sector because many such measurements rely on the semi-leptonic decays of the charged currents. Currently, global fits of the determinations of the…
High precision measurements of isospin $T=1/2$ decays in the neutron and nuclei provide strong model-independent constraints on extensions to the standard model of particle physics. A measurement of the $\beta$-asymmetry in $^{19}$Ne decay…
If the Standard Model is correct, and fundamental fermions exist only in the three generations, then the CKM matrix should be unitary. However, there remains a question over a deviation from unitarity from the value of the neutron lifetime.…
Present precision measurements of the neutron life time lead to a CKM matrix element $|V_{ud}|$ which is three standard deviations off the value inferred from heavy quark decays etc. We investigate the possibility whether isospin-breaking…
New decay channels for the neutron into dark matter plus other particles have been suggested for explaining a long-standing discrepancy between the neutron lifetime measured from trapped neutrons versus those decaying in flight. Many such…
The discrepancies in different measurements of the lifetime of isolated neutrons could be resolved by considering an extra neutron decay channel into dark matter, with a branching ratio of the order of $O(1$\%). Although the decay channel…
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 weakly-coupled heterotic string is known to have problems of dilaton/moduli stabilization, supersymmetry breaking (by hidden-sector gaugino condensation), gauge coupling unification (or the Newton's constant), QCD axion, as well as…
Precision measurements in allowed nuclear beta decays and neutron decay are reviewed and analyzed both within the Standard Model and looking for new physics. The analysis incorporates the most recent experimental and theoretical…
The Cabibbo-Cobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix parametrizes the misalignement between the up- and down-quark mass basis in the Standard Model (SM). The observation of first row CKM unitarity violation has recently emerged as a new anomaly of…
Beta decays of mirror nuclei differ in Q-value, but will otherwise proceed with transitions of similar strength. The current status is reviewed: Fermi transitions are all very similar, whereas Gamow-Teller transitions can differ in strength…
Although well studied, the neutron still offers a unique laboratory for precise tests of Standard Model (SM) predictions. Neutron decay is free of nuclear structure corrections present in nuclear beta decays, and, with a $10^8$ times larger…
We consider neutron radiative \beta-decay, n\to p e^- \bar{\nu}_e\gamma, and compute the T-odd momentum correlation in the decay rate characterized by the kinematical variable \xi = {\bf l}_\nu \cdot ({\bf l}_e\times{\bf k}) arising from…
Study of the neutrinoless double beta decay, $0\nu\beta\beta$, includes a variety of problems of nuclear structure theory. They are reviewed here. The problems range from the mechanism of the decay, i.e. exchange of the light Majorana…
Phase transitions can play an important role in the cosmological constant problem, allowing the underlying vacuum energy, and therefore the value of the cosmological constant, to change. Deep within the core of neutron stars, the local…
The effect of variations of the fundamental nuclear parameters on big-bang nucleosynthesis are modeled and discussed in detail taking into account the interrelations between the fundamental parameters arising in unified theories.…
A hypothetical time-variation of the gravitational constant $G$ would make neutron stars expand or contract, so the matter in their interiors would depart from beta equilibrium. This induces non-equilibrium weak reactions, which release…
The influence of nucleon-nucleon short-ranged correlations (SRC) on nuclear super-allowed $\beta$ decay is examined. The need for this is driven by the observed depletion of spectroscopic strength obtained in studies of $(e,e')$ and…