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First Full Dalitz Plot Measurement in Neutronβ -Decay using the Nab Spectrometer and Implications for New Physics
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

First Full Dalitz Plot Measurement in Neutronβ -Decay using the Nab Spectrometer and Implications for New Physics

Francisco M Gonzalez, Jin Ha Choi, Himal Acharya, Skylar Clymer, Andrew Hagemeier, David G Mathews, August Mendelsohn, Austin Nelsen, Hitesh Rahangdale, Love Richburg, …
Physics Review C, v 113(3), 035501
04 Mar 2026
url
https://doi.org/10.1103/ksmp-zxslView
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open CC BY V4.0

Abstract

High Energy Physics - Experiment Nuclear Experiment Physics
Precision measurements of observables in neutronβ -decay are used to test the Standard Model description of the weak interaction and search for evidence of new physics. The Nab experiment at the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline at the Spallation Neutron Source was constructed to measure correlations in neutron decay by utilizing an asymmetric spectrometer and novel detection system to accurately reconstruct the proton momentum and electron energy for eachβ -decay. This work describes the detection of neutronβ -decay products in the Nab spectrometer and presents the first full Dalitz plot representation of the phase space of neutronβ -decay for all electrons >100 keV. In addition, new constraints are placed on a possible excited neutron state, hypothesized to explain the disagreement between the appearance and disappearance neutron lifetime techniques.

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