In the realm of particle physics and energy research, a team of scientists from the Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing, China, has delved into the intriguing phenomenon of nucleon decays. The researchers, Jing Chen, Yi Liao, Xiao-Dong Ma, and Hao-Lin Wang, have published their findings in the journal Physical Review D, offering new insights into the potential decay processes of nucleons, the particles that make up the nucleus of an atom.
The study focuses on a specific type of nucleon decay, one that violates the conservation of baryon number and results in the production of three leptons. These decays are mediated by dimension-6 operators in the framework of low-energy effective field theory (LEFT). The team systematically classified all possible processes that change lepton flavor by one unit and formulated their decay widths in terms of the dimension-6 LEFT Wilson coefficients.
One of the key aspects of this research is the consideration of noncontact contributions to these decays. These contributions involve the exchange of a baryon, meson, lepton, or photon field, adding a layer of complexity to the decay processes. By applying constraints on these Wilson coefficients derived from current experimental limits on baryon number violating two-body nucleon decays, the researchers obtained stringent bounds on the rates of these triple-lepton modes.
The results of this study reveal significant variations in the decay rates depending on the specific dimension-6 operator under consideration. For the Δ(B-L)=0 modes, the researchers found that their results differ by several orders of magnitude from previous phase-space estimates, providing a more reliable assessment of their potential occurrence. Additionally, the study offers improved bounds on Δ(B+L)=0 modes compared to existing experimental limits.
The practical implications of this research for the energy sector are not immediately apparent, as the study is primarily theoretical and exploratory. However, a deeper understanding of fundamental particle interactions and decays can contribute to the broader field of energy research, particularly in areas such as nuclear physics and particle accelerators. The insights gained from this study could potentially inform the development of new technologies or approaches in these areas, although further research would be needed to explore these connections.
In summary, the work of Chen, Liao, Ma, and Wang represents a significant advancement in the understanding of nucleon decays and their implications for particle physics. Their findings provide a more nuanced and accurate picture of these complex processes, contributing to the ongoing quest to unravel the fundamental laws of the universe. The research was published in Physical Review D, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the publication of high-quality research in the field of particle physics.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.