We present for the first time a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the experimental results that set the current world sensitivity limit on the magnitude of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron. We have extended and enhanced our earlier analysis to include recent developments in the understanding of the effects of gravity in depolarizing ultracold neutrons; an improved calculation of the spectrum of the neutrons; and conservative estimates of other possible systematic errors, which are also shown to be consistent with more recent measurements undertaken with the apparatus. We obtain a net result of d n ¼ −0.21 AE 1.82 × 10 −26 e cm, which may be interpreted as a slightly revised upper limit on the magnitude of the EDM of 3.0 × 10 −26 e cm (90% C.L.) or 3.6 × 10 −26 e cm (95% C.L.).

We present the result of an experiment to measure the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron at the Paul Scherrer Institute using Ramsey's method of separated oscillating magnetic fields with ultracold neutrons. Our measurement stands in the long history of EDM experiments probing physics violating timereversal invariance. The salient features of this experiment were the use of a 199 Hg comagnetometer and an array of optically pumped cesium vapor magnetometers to cancel and correct for magnetic-field changes. The statistical analysis was performed on blinded datasets by two separate groups, while the estimation of systematic effects profited from an unprecedented knowledge of the magnetic field. The measured value of the neutron EDM is d n ¼ ð0.0 AE 1.1 stat AE 0.2 sys Þ × 10 −26 e:cm.

International audienceWe report on a search for ultralow-mass axionlike dark matter by analyzing the ratio of the spin-precession frequencies of stored ultracold neutrons and Hg199 atoms for an axion-induced oscillating electric dipole moment of the neutron and an axion-wind spin-precession effect. No signal consistent with dark matter is observed for the axion mass range 10-24≤ma≤10-17  eV. Our null result sets the first laboratory constraints on the coupling of axion dark matter to gluons, which improve on astrophysical limits by up to 3 orders of magnitude, and also improves on previous laboratory constraints on the axion coupling to nucleons by up to a factor of 40

A fully analytical description of the allowed β spectrum shape is given in view of ongoing and planned measurements. Its study forms an invaluable tool in the search for physics beyond the standard electroweak model and the weak magnetism recoil term. Contributions stemming from finite size corrections, mass effects, and radiative corrections are reviewed. A particular focus is placed on atomic and chemical effects, where the existing description is extended and analytically provided. The effects of QCD-induced recoil terms are discussed, and cross-checks were performed for different theoretical formalisms. Special attention was given to a comparison of the treatment of nuclear structure effects in different formalisms. Corrections were derived for both Fermi and Gamow-Teller transitions, and methods of analytical evaluation thoroughly discussed. In its integrated form, calculated f values were in agreement with the most precise numerical results within the aimed for precision. We stress the need for an accurate evaluation of weak magnetism contributions, and note the possible significance of the oft-neglected induced pseudoscalar interaction. Together with improved atomic corrections, we then present an analytical description of the allowed β spectrum shape accurate to a few parts in 10 −4 down to 1 keV for low to medium Z nuclei, thereby extending the work by previous authors by nearly an order of magnitude.

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 n ′ , could potentially mix and undergo nn ′ oscillations. The interaction of an ordinary magnetic field with the ordinary neutron would lift the degeneracy between the mirror partners, diminish the 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 τ nn ′ > 103 s (95% C.L.) is derived.PACS numbers: 11.30. Er, 11.30.Fs, 14.20.Dh, The concept of a mirror world, as an attempt to restore global parity symmetry, has attracted interest since the 1950's, started by the famous paper of Lee and Yang [1] and significantly expanded in the work of Kobzarev, Okun, and Pomeranchuk [2]. The mirror matter idea was first applied to the Standard Model of particle physics in [3]. More recent overviews can be found in [4,5]. The mirror world could hold a copy of the particle spectrum of our ordinary world. Matter and mirror matter would interact via gravity and present a viable explanation to the dark matter problem [6,7,8,9,10]. Besides gravity, other (new) interactions could show up in minute mixings of neutral matter particles -such as neutrinos, pions, kaons, or positronium (see [11] for e + e − ) -and their degenerate mirror partners making oscillations between them possible. Recently it was pointed out [12] that no direct experimental limits exist on the oscillation time τ nn ′ [13] between ordinary matter neutrons (n) and the speculative mirror neutrons (n ′ ). An indirect limit of the order τ nn ′ ≥ 1 s has been derived in [12] based on the search for neutron -antineutron (nn) oscillations [14]. Fast nn ′ oscillations with τ nn ′ ∼ 1 s, or at least much shorter than the neutron β-decay lifetime, could explain [12,15] the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff [16,17]. The viability of models and implications have been further discussed in [18].Possible approaches to nn ′ oscillation experiments with sensitivities of several hundred seconds have been discussed in [19]. One approach is to search for nn ′ oscillations by comparing the storage of ultracold neutrons (UCN) in vacuum in a trap in the presence and the absence, respectively, of a magnetic field. The essential idea is that the neutron and mirror neutron states would be degenerate in the absence of a magnetic field and nn ′ transitions could occur. (The absence of mirror magnetic fields at the location of the experiment is assumed throughout this paper [20].) The interaction of the neutron with a magnetic field would lift the degeneracy and suppress the transition into a mirror neutron which, of course, does not interact with the ordinary magnetic field, nor with the trap via the ordinary strong interaction. Thus...

Article (Published Version) http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Alterev, I, Harris, Philip, Shiers, David and et al, (2009) Neutron to mirror-neutron oscillations in the presence of mirror magnetic fields. Physical Review D, 80 (3). 032003. ISSN 1550-7998 This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/16039/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse:Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University.Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available.Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way.Neutron to mirror-neutron oscillations in the presence of mirror magnetic fields We performed ultracold neutron storage measurements to search for additional losses due to neutron (n) to mirror-neutron (n 0 ) oscillations as a function of an applied magnetic field B. In the presence of a mirror magnetic field B 0 , ultracold neutron losses would be maximal for B % B 0 . We did not observe any indication for nn 0 oscillations and placed a lower limit on the oscillation time of nn 0 > 12:0sat 95% C.L. for any B 0 between 0 and 12:5 T.

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International audienceThe measurement of the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) constrains the contribution of CP-violating terms within both the Standard Model and its extensions. The experiment uses ultracold neutrons (UCN) stored in vacuum at room temperature. This technique provided the last (and best) limit by the RAL/Sussex/ILL collaboration in 2006: dn < 2:9 × 10-26 e cm (90% C.L.). We aim to improve the experimental sensitivity by a factor of 5 within 2-3 years, using an upgrade of the same apparatus. We will take advantage of the increased ultracold neutron density at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and of a new concept including both, external magnetometers and a cohabiting magnetometer. In parallel, a next generation apparatus with two UCN storage chambers and an elaborate magnetic field control is being designed aiming to achieve another order of magnitude increase in sensitivity, allowing us to put a limit as tight as dn < 5 × 10-28 e cm (95% C.L.), if not establishing a finite value