2024/02/25 by Gonzalez, Francisco M., Rock, Cary, Broussard, Leah J. +11
#FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex) #Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2402.15981
Conversions between neutrons n and Dark Matter candidate sterile neutrons n' have been proposed as a mechanism for Baryon Number B violation. In the case that there is a small mass difference Δm between the n and the n' states, oscillations can be induced by compensating for Δm with a magnetic field. A search for such neutron oscillations was performed at the Spallation Neutron Source by looking for anomalous neutron transmission through a strongly absorbing cadmium wafer inside of a 6.6~T magnet. The approach described here saw no regenerated neutrons above background, which provides an improved limit for neutron - sterile neutrons transformations for a range of Δm between 0.1~neV and 1000~neV.