1
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Le Joubioux M, Savajols H, Mittig W, Fléchard X, Hayen L, Penionzhkevich YE, Ackermann D, Borcea C, Caceres L, Delahaye P, Didierjean F, Franchoo S, Grillet A, Jacquot B, Lebois M, Ledoux X, Lecesne N, Liénard E, Lukyanov S, Naviliat-Cuncic O, Piot J, Singh A, Smirnov V, Stodel C, Testov D, Thisse D, Thomas JC, Verney D. Search for a Neutron Dark Decay in ^{6}He. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2024; 132:132501. [PMID: 38613302 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.132.132501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Neutron dark decays have been suggested as a solution to the discrepancy between bottle and beam experiments, providing a dark matter candidate that can be searched for in halo nuclei. The free neutron in the final state following the decay of ^{6}He into ^{4}He+n+χ provides an exceptionally clean detection signature when combined with a high efficiency neutron detector. Using a high-intensity ^{6}He^{+} beam at Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds, a search for a coincident neutron signal resulted in an upper limit on a dark decay branching ratio of Br_{χ}≤4.0×10^{-10} (95% C.L.). Using the dark neutron decay model proposed originally by Fornal and Grinstein, we translate this into an upper bound on a dark neutron branching ratio of O(10^{-5}), improving over global constraints by one to several orders of magnitude depending on m_{χ}.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Le Joubioux
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - H Savajols
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - W Mittig
- Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - X Fléchard
- Université de Caen Normandie, ENSICAEN, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Caen UMR6534, F-14000 Caen, France
| | - L Hayen
- Université de Caen Normandie, ENSICAEN, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Caen UMR6534, F-14000 Caen, France
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607, USA
| | - Yu E Penionzhkevich
- Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna 141980, Russia
- National Research Nuclear University MEPHI, Moscow 115409, Russia
| | - D Ackermann
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - C Borcea
- Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Reactorului 30, 077125 Bucharest-Măgurele, Romania
| | - L Caceres
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - P Delahaye
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - F Didierjean
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, 23 Rue du Loess, 67200 Strasbourg, France
| | - S Franchoo
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS/IN2P3, IJCLab, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - A Grillet
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, 23 Rue du Loess, 67200 Strasbourg, France
| | - B Jacquot
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - M Lebois
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS/IN2P3, IJCLab, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - X Ledoux
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - N Lecesne
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - E Liénard
- Université de Caen Normandie, ENSICAEN, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Caen UMR6534, F-14000 Caen, France
| | - S Lukyanov
- Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna 141980, Russia
| | - O Naviliat-Cuncic
- Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Université de Caen Normandie, ENSICAEN, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Caen UMR6534, F-14000 Caen, France
| | - J Piot
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - A Singh
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - V Smirnov
- Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna 141980, Russia
| | - C Stodel
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - D Testov
- Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP)/Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), Strada Reactorului 30, 077125 Bucharest-Măgurele, Romania
- Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Joliot-Curie 6, 141980 Dubna, Moscow region, Russia
| | - D Thisse
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS/IN2P3, IJCLab, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - J C Thomas
- Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France
| | - D Verney
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS/IN2P3, IJCLab, 91405 Orsay, France
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2
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Leane RK, Linden T. First Analysis of Jupiter in Gamma Rays and a New Search for Dark Matter. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 131:071001. [PMID: 37656854 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.131.071001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
We present the first dedicated γ-ray analysis of Jupiter, using 12 years of data from the Fermi Telescope. We find no robust evidence of γ-ray emission, and set upper limits of ∼10^{-9} GeV cm^{-2} s^{-1} on the Jovian γ-ray flux. We point out that Jupiter is an advantageous dark matter (DM) target due to its large surface area (compared with other solar system planets), and cool core temperature (compared with the Sun). These properties allow Jupiter to both capture and retain lighter DM, providing a complementary probe of sub-GeV DM. We therefore identify and perform a new search for DM-sourced γ-rays in Jupiter, where DM annihilates to long-lived particles, which can escape the Jovian surface and decay into γ rays. We consequently constrain DM-proton scattering cross sections as low as about 10^{-40} cm^{2}, showing Jupiter is up to 10 orders of magnitude more sensitive than direct detection. This sensitivity is reached under the assumption that the mediator decay length is sufficient to escape Jupiter, and the equilibrium between DM capture and annihilation; sensitivities can be lower depending on the DM model. Our work motivates follow-up studies with upcoming MeV telescopes such as AMEGO and e-ASTROGAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca K Leane
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94035, USA
| | - Tim Linden
- Stockholm University and The Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, Alba Nova, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
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3
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Alonso-Álvarez G, Elor G, Escudero M, Fornal B, Grinstein B, Camalich JM. Strange physics of dark baryons. Int J Clin Exp Med 2022. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.105.115005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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4
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Abstract
The neutron lifetime anomaly has been used to motivate the introduction of new physics with hidden-sector particles coupled to baryon number, and on which neutron stars provide powerful constraints. Although the neutron lifetime anomaly may eventually prove to be of mundane origin, we use it as motivation for a broader review of the ways that baryon number violation, be it real or apparent, and dark sectors can intertwine and how neutron star observables, both present and future, can constrain them.
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5
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Electrodisintegration of Deuteron into Dark Matter and Proton Close to Threshold. Symmetry (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13112169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We discuss an investigation of the dark matter decay modes of the neutron, proposed by Fornal and Grinstein (2018–2020), Berezhiani (2017, 2018) and Ivanov et al. (2018) for solution of the neutron lifetime anomaly problem, through the analysis of the electrodisintegration of the deuteron d into dark matter fermions χ and protons p close to threshold. We calculate the triple-differential cross section for the reaction e−+d→χ+p+e− and propose to search for such a dark matter channel in coincidence experiments on the electrodisintegration of the deuteron e−+d→n+p+e− into neutrons n and protons close to threshold with outgoing electrons, protons, and neutrons in coincidence. An absence of neutron signals should testify to a detection of dark matter fermions.
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Gonzalez FM, Fries EM, Cude-Woods C, Bailey T, Blatnik M, Broussard LJ, Callahan NB, Choi JH, Clayton SM, Currie SA, Dawid M, Dees EB, Filippone BW, Fox W, Geltenbort P, George E, Hayen L, Hickerson KP, Hoffbauer MA, Hoffman K, Holley AT, Ito TM, Komives A, Liu CY, Makela M, Morris CL, Musedinovic R, O'Shaughnessy C, Pattie RW, Ramsey J, Salvat DJ, Saunders A, Sharapov EI, Slutsky S, Su V, Sun X, Swank C, Tang Z, Uhrich W, Vanderwerp J, Walstrom P, Wang Z, Wei W, Young AR. Improved Neutron Lifetime Measurement with UCNτ. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 127:162501. [PMID: 34723594 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.162501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We report an improved measurement of the free neutron lifetime τ_{n} using the UCNτ apparatus at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. We count a total of approximately 38×10^{6} surviving ultracold neutrons (UCNs) after storing in UCNτ's magnetogravitational trap over two data acquisition campaigns in 2017 and 2018. We extract τ_{n} from three blinded, independent analyses by both pairing long and short storage time runs to find a set of replicate τ_{n} measurements and by performing a global likelihood fit to all data while self-consistently incorporating the β-decay lifetime. Both techniques achieve consistent results and find a value τ_{n}=877.75±0.28_{stat}+0.22/-0.16_{syst} s. With this sensitivity, neutron lifetime experiments now directly address the impact of recent refinements in our understanding of the standard model for neutron decay.
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Affiliation(s)
- F M Gonzalez
- Department of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
- Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - E M Fries
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - C Cude-Woods
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
- Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - T Bailey
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
- Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - M Blatnik
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - L J Broussard
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - N B Callahan
- Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA
| | - J H Choi
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
- Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - S M Clayton
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - S A Currie
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - M Dawid
- Department of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
- Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
| | - E B Dees
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
- Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - B W Filippone
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - W Fox
- Department of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
- Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
| | - P Geltenbort
- Institut Laue-Langevin, CS 20156, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - E George
- Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee 38505, USA
| | - L Hayen
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
- Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - K P Hickerson
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - M A Hoffbauer
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - K Hoffman
- Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee 38505, USA
| | - A T Holley
- Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee 38505, USA
| | - T M Ito
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - A Komives
- DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana 46135, USA
| | - C-Y Liu
- Department of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
- Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
| | - M Makela
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - C L Morris
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - R Musedinovic
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
- Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - C O'Shaughnessy
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - R W Pattie
- East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee 37614, USA
| | - J Ramsey
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - D J Salvat
- Department of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
- Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
| | - A Saunders
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - E I Sharapov
- Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - S Slutsky
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - V Su
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - X Sun
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - C Swank
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Z Tang
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - W Uhrich
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - J Vanderwerp
- Department of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
- Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
| | - P Walstrom
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - Z Wang
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - W Wei
- Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - A R Young
- Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
- Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
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7
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McKeen D, Pospelov M, Raj N. Neutron Star Internal Heating Constraints on Mirror Matter. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 127:061805. [PMID: 34420351 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.061805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Mirror sectors have been proposed to address the problems of dark matter, baryogenesis, and the neutron lifetime anomaly. In this work we study a new, powerful probe of mirror neutrons: neutron star temperatures. When neutrons in the neutron star core convert to mirror neutrons during collisions, the vacancies left behind in the nucleon Fermi seas are refilled by more energetic nucleons, releasing immense amounts of heat in the process. We derive a new constraint on the allowed strength of neutron-mirror-neutron mixing from observations of the coldest (sub-40 000 Kelvin) neutron star, PSR 2144-3933. Our limits compete with laboratory searches for neutron-mirror-neutron transitions but apply to a range of mass splittings between the neutron and mirror neutron that is 19 orders of magnitude larger. This heating mechanism, also pertinent to other neutron disappearance channels such as exotic neutron decay, provides a compelling physics target for upcoming ultraviolet, optical, and infrared telescopes to study thermal emissions of cold neutron stars.
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Affiliation(s)
- David McKeen
- TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2A3, Canada
| | - Maxim Pospelov
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
- William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
| | - Nirmal Raj
- TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2A3, Canada
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8
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Leane RK, Smirnov J. Exoplanets as Sub-GeV Dark Matter Detectors. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 126:161101. [PMID: 33961477 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.126.161101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We present exoplanets as new targets to discover dark matter (DM). Throughout the Milky Way, DM can scatter, become captured, deposit annihilation energy, and increase the heat flow within exoplanets. We estimate upcoming infrared telescope sensitivity to this scenario, finding actionable discovery or exclusion searches. We find that DM with masses above about an MeV can be probed with exoplanets, with DM-proton and DM-electron scattering cross sections down to about 10^{-37} cm^{2}, stronger than existing limits by up to six orders of magnitude. Supporting evidence of a DM origin can be identified through DM-induced exoplanet heating correlated with galactic position, and hence DM density. This provides new motivation to measure the temperature of the billions of brown dwarfs, rogue planets, and gas giants peppered throughout our Galaxy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca K Leane
- Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94039, USA
| | - Juri Smirnov
- Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP), The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
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9
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Tang Z, Watkins EB, Clayton SM, Currie SA, Fellers DE, Hassan MT, Hooks DE, Ito TM, Lawrence SK, MacDonald SWT, Makela M, Morris CL, Neukirch LP, Saunders A, O'Shaughnessy CM, Cude-Woods C, Choi JH, Young AR, Zeck BA, Gonzalez F, Liu CY, Floyd NC, Hickerson KP, Holley AT, Johnson BA, Lambert JC, Pattie RW. Ultracold neutron properties of the Eljen-299-02D deuterated scintillator. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2021; 92:023305. [PMID: 33648127 DOI: 10.1063/5.0030972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we report studies of the Fermi potential and loss per bounce of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) on a deuterated scintillator (Eljen-299-02D). These UCN properties of the scintillator enable its use in a wide variety of applications in fundamental neutron research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Tang
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - E B Watkins
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - S M Clayton
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - S A Currie
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - D E Fellers
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - Md T Hassan
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - D E Hooks
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - T M Ito
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - S K Lawrence
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - S W T MacDonald
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - M Makela
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - C L Morris
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - L P Neukirch
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | - A Saunders
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
| | | | - C Cude-Woods
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
| | - J H Choi
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
| | - A R Young
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
| | - B A Zeck
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
| | - F Gonzalez
- Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
| | - C Y Liu
- Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
| | - N C Floyd
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA
| | - K P Hickerson
- W. K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - A T Holley
- Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee 38505, USA
| | - B A Johnson
- Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA
| | - J C Lambert
- Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA
| | - R W Pattie
- East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee 37614, USA
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10
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McKeen D, Pospelov M, Raj N. Hydrogen Portal to Exotic Radioactivity. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 125:231803. [PMID: 33337221 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.125.231803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We show that in a special class of dark sector models, the hydrogen atom can serve as a portal to new physics, through its decay occurring in abundant populations in the Sun and on Earth. The large fluxes of hydrogen decay daughter states can be detected via their decay or scattering. By constructing two models for either detection channel, we show that the recently reported excess in electron recoils at xenon1t could be explained by such signals in large regions of parameter space unconstrained by proton and hydrogen decay limits.
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Affiliation(s)
- David McKeen
- TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2A3, Canada
| | - Maxim Pospelov
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
- William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
| | - Nirmal Raj
- TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2A3, Canada
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11
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12
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Grinstein B, Kouvaris C, Nielsen NG. Neutron Star Stability in Light of the Neutron Decay Anomaly. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 123:091601. [PMID: 31524483 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.123.091601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A recent proposal suggests that experimental discrepancies on the lifetime of neutrons can be resolved if neutrons decay to dark matter. At the same time it has been demonstrated that such a decay mode would soften the nuclear equation of the state resulting in neutron stars with a maximum mass much below currently observed ones. In this Letter, we demonstrate that appropriate dark matter-baryon interactions can accommodate neutron stars with mass above two solar masses. We compare this stabilization mechanism to one based on dark matter self-interactions, finding that it is less sensitive to the details of the nuclear equation of state. We present a simple microscopic model realization of this mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chris Kouvaris
- CP3-Origins, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense, Denmark
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13
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Klopf M, Jericha E, Märkisch B, Saul H, Soldner T, Abele H. Constraints on the Dark Matter Interpretation n→χ+e^{+}e^{-} of the Neutron Decay Anomaly with the PERKEO II Experiment. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 122:222503. [PMID: 31283271 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.122.222503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Discrepancies from in-beam- and in-bottle-type experiments measuring the neutron lifetime are on the 4σ standard deviation level. In a recent publication Fornal and Grinstein proposed that the puzzle could be solved if the neutron would decay on the one percent level via a dark decay mode, one possible branch being n→χ+e^{+}e^{-}. With data from the Perkeo II experiment we set limits on the branching fraction and exclude a one percent contribution for 95% of the allowed mass range for the dark matter particle.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Klopf
- Atominstitut, Technische Universität Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien, Austria
| | - E Jericha
- Atominstitut, Technische Universität Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien, Austria
| | - B Märkisch
- Physik-Department ENE, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - H Saul
- Atominstitut, Technische Universität Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien, Austria
- Physik-Department ENE, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - T Soldner
- Institut Laue-Langevin, BP 156, 6, rue Jules Horowitz, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - H Abele
- Atominstitut, Technische Universität Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien, Austria
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Arapoğlu AS, Ekşi KY, Yükselci AE. Neutron star structure in the presence of nonminimally coupled scalar fields. Int J Clin Exp Med 2019. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.99.064055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Abstract
We discuss our recently proposed interpretation of the discrepancy between the bottle and beam neutron lifetime experiments as a sign of a dark sector. The difference between the outcomes of the two types of measurements is explained by the existence of a neutron dark decay channel with a branching fraction 1%. Phenomenologically consistent particle physics models for the neutron dark decay can be constructed and they involve a strongly self-interacting dark sector. We elaborate on the theoretical developments around this idea and describe the efforts undertaken to verify it experimentally.
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Abstract
Following up on a suggestion that decay to a dark matter fermion might explain the 4σ discrepancy in the neutron lifetime, we consider the implications of such a fermion on neutron star structure. We find that including it reduces the maximum neutron star mass to well below the observed masses. In order to recover stars with the observed masses, the (repulsive) self-interactions of the dark fermion would have to be stronger than those of the nucleon-nucleon interaction.
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Baym G, Beck DH, Geltenbort P, Shelton J. Testing Dark Decays of Baryons in Neutron Stars. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2018; 121:061801. [PMID: 30141676 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.121.061801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The observation of neutron stars with masses greater than one solar mass places severe demands on any exotic neutron decay mode that could explain the discrepancy between beam and bottle measurements of the neutron lifetime. If the neutron can decay to a stable, feebly interacting dark fermion, the maximum possible mass of a neutron star is 0.7M_{⊙}, while all well-measured neutron star masses exceed one M_{⊙}. The existence of 2M_{⊙} neutron stars further indicates that any explanation beyond the standard model for the neutron lifetime puzzle requires dark matter to be part of a multiparticle dark sector with highly constrained interactions. Beyond the neutron lifetime puzzle, our results indicate that neutron stars provide unique and useful probes of GeV-scale dark sectors coupled to the standard model via baryon-number-violating interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon Baym
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - D H Beck
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Peter Geltenbort
- Institut Max von Laue Paul Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Jessie Shelton
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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