An Explanation and Some Experiments for Solving the Neutron Lifetime Puzzle
0An Explanation and Some Experiments for Solving the Neutron Lifetime Puzzle Via Non Standard Neutrino Interactions
Layman Abstract : There’s a strange puzzle in physics called the neutron lifetime puzzle. Scientists have tried to measure how long a free neutron lives before it decays, but they get two different answers depending on the method they use:
Beam experiments say the neutron lasts about 887 seconds.
Magnetic bottle experiments say the neutron lasts about 879 seconds.
That’s a significant difference, and no one knows why.
This paper suggests a new explanation: maybe neutrons are interacting with neutrinos (tiny particles) in a way that we don’t currently account for in standard physics. These unusual interactions, combined with a quantum effect (called the inverse quantum Zeno effect, which can speed up decay under certain conditions), could shorten the neutron lifetime in the magnetic bottle experiments — making it match the 879 seconds result.
The paper also proposes some new experiments to check if this idea is correct, using different materials and very cold neutrons.
If this theory is proven right, it could help us understand fundamental forces better and might also tell us something new about dark matter, the early universe, and how particles interact at the smallest scales.
----------
Original Abstract : The neutron lifetime puzzle, characterized by a discrepancy between beam (887 seconds) and magnetic bottle (879 seconds) measurements, remains unsolved. This manuscript proposes an innovative explanation involving non-standard neutrino interactions and the inverse quantum Zeno effect. These interactions could reduce the neutron lifetime in magnetic bottle experiments to the observed value. To test this hypothesis, we suggest some experiments using isotopically varied materials and ultra-cold neutron sources. If validated, this work could deepen our understanding of fundamental forces, with significant implications for cosmology, dark matter, and particle physics.
View Book: https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/crpps/v7/4040
#Neutron_decay,_quantum_zeno_effect #neutrino_background