A direct experimental limit on neutron -- mirror neutron oscillations

TL;DR

This paper reports an experimental search for neutron to mirror neutron oscillations, setting a lower limit on the oscillation time by comparing ultracold neutron storage with and without a magnetic field.

Contribution

It provides the first direct experimental limit on neutron-mirror neutron oscillations under controlled magnetic field conditions.

Findings

No observable effect of magnetic field on neutron storage.

Established a lower limit on oscillation time, τ_nn' > 103 seconds.

Supports the existence of a mirror world with negligible magnetic interactions.

Abstract

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.