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Register a new userNew experimental limits on neutron - mirror neutron oscillations in the presence of mirror magnetic field
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Present probes do not exclude that the neutron ($n$) oscillation into mirror neutron ($n$), a sterile state exactly degenerate in mass with the neutron, can be a very fast process, in fact faster than the neutron decay itself. This process is sensitive to the magnetic field. Namely, if the mirror magnetic field $vec{B}$ exists at the Earth, $n-n$ oscillation probability can be suppressed or resonantly amplified by the applied magnetic field $vec{B}$, depending on its strength and on the angle $beta$ between $vec{B}$ and $vec{B}$. We present the results of ultra-cold neutron storage measurements aiming to check the anomalies observed in previous experiments which could be a signal for $n-n$ oscillation in the presence of mirror magnetic field $Bsim 0.1$~G. Analyzing the experimental data on neutron loses, we obtain a new lower limit on $n-n$ oscillation time $tau_{nn} > 17$ s (95 % C.L.) for any $B$ between 0.08 and 0.17 G, and $tau_{nn}/sqrt{cosbeta} > 27 $s (95 % C.L.) for any $B$ in the interval ($0.06div0.25$) G.
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We performed ultracold neutron (UCN) storage measurements to search for additional losses due to neutron (n) to mirror-neutron (n) oscillations as a function of an applied magnetic field B. In the presence of a mirror magnetic field B, UCN losses would be maximal for B = B. We did not observe any indication for nn oscillations and placed a lower limit on the oscillation time of tau_{nn} > 12.0 s at 95% C.L. for any B between 0 and 12.5 uT.
In case a mirror world with a copy of our ordinary particle spectrum would exist, the neutron n and its degenerate partner, the mirror neutron ${rm n}$, could potentially mix and undergo ${rm nn}$ oscillations. The interaction of an ordinary magnetic field with the ordinary neutron would lift the degeneracy between the mirror partners, diminish the ${rm n}$-amplitude in the n-wavefunction and, thus, suppress its observability. We report an experimental comparison of ultracold neutron storage in a trap with and without superimposed magnetic field. No influence of the magnetic field is found and, assuming negligible mirror magnetic fields, a limit on the oscillation time $tau_{rm nn} > 103$ s (95% C.L.) is derived.
An observation of neutron-antineutron oscillations ($ n-bar{n}$), which violate both $B$ and $B-L$ conservation, would constitute a scientific discovery of fundamental importance to physics and cosmology. A stringent upper bound on its transition rate would make an important contribution to our understanding of the baryon asymmetry of the universe by eliminating the post-sphaleron baryogenesis scenario in the light quark sector. We show that one can design an experiment using slow neutrons that in principle can reach the required sensitivity of $tau_{n-bar{n}}sim 10^{10}s$ in the oscillation time, an improvement of $sim10^4$ in the oscillation probability relative to the existing limit for free neutrons. This can be achieved by allowing both the neutron and antineutron components of the developing superposition state to coherently reflect from mirrors. We present a quantitative analysis of this scenario and show that, for sufficiently small transverse momenta of $n/bar{n}$ and for certain choices of nuclei for the $n/bar{n}$ guide material, the relative phase shift of the $n$ and $bar{n}$ components upon reflection and the $bar{n}$ annihilation rate can be small.
It has been proposed that there could be a mirror copy of the standard model particles, restoring the parity symmetry in the weak interaction on the global level. Oscillations between a neutral standard model particle, such as the neutron, and its mirror counterpart could potentially answer various standing issues in physics today. Astrophysical studies and terrestrial experiments led by ultracold neutron storage measurements have investigated neutron to mirror-neutron oscillations and imposed constraints on the theoretical parameters. Recently, further analysis of these ultracold neutron storage experiments has yielded statistically significant anomalous signals that may be interpreted as neutron to mirror-neutron oscillations, assuming nonzero mirror magnetic fields. The neutron electric dipole moment collaboration performed a dedicated search at the Paul Scherrer Institute and found no evidence of neutron to mirror-neutron oscillations. Thereby, the following new lower limits on the oscillation time were obtained: $tau_{nn} > 352~$s at $B=0$ (95% C.L.), $tau_{nn} > 6~text{s}$ for all $0.4~mutext{T}<B<25.7~mutext{T}$ (95% C.L.), and $tau_{nn}/sqrt{cosbeta}>9~text{s}$ for all $5.0~mutext{T}<B<25.4~mutext{T}$ (95% C.L.), where $beta$ is the fixed angle between the applied magnetic field and the local mirror magnetic field which is assumed to be bound to the Earth. These new constraints are the best measured so far around $Bsim10~mu$T, and $Bsim20~mu$T.
The possibility of relatively fast neutron oscillations into a mirror neutron state is not excluded experimentally when a mirror magnetic field is considered. Direct searches for the disappearance of neutrons into mirror neutrons in a controlled magnetic field have previously been performed using ultracold neutrons, with some anomalous results reported. We describe a technique using cold neutrons to perform a disappearance and regeneration search, which would allow us to unambiguously identify a possible oscillation signal. An experiment using the existing General Purpose-Small Angle Neutron Scattering instrument at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will have the sensitivity to fully explore the parameter space of prior ultracold neutron searches and confirm or refute previous claims of observation. This instrument can also conclusively test the validity of recently suggested oscillation-based explanations for the neutron lifetime anomaly.
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