Search for Radiative β-Decay of the Free Neutron.
Results of the first experiment to search for the radiative decay mode of the free neutron are reported. The γ-spectrum was studied in the energy region from 35 keV to 100 keV in six Cs(Tl) scintillators, each set at an angle of 35° to, and shielded from, a central plastic scintillator electron detector. Triple coincidences were recorded with recoil protons detected in a micro-channel plate. A limit for the branching ratio BR < 6.9 × 10(-3) (90 % confidence level) was obtained, which is greater that the theoretical prediction by not more than a few tenths of a percent.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, U.K.
J
J
Byrne
RSC Kurchatov Institute, 127562 Moscow, Russia.
R U
RU
Khafizov
RSC Kurchatov Institute, 127562 Moscow, Russia.
Yu A
YA
Mostovoi
Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188350 Gatchina, Russia.
O
O
Rozhnov
Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188350 Gatchina, Russia.
V A
VA
Solovei
Katholicke Universiteit Leuven, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
M
M
Beck
Katholicke Universiteit Leuven, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
V U
VU
Kozlov
Katholicke Universiteit Leuven, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
N
N
Severijns
beta decay; cold neutrons; electroweak interactions; neutron decay; radiative corrections; radiative decay