Neutral Hadrons Disappearing into the Darkness
- Resource Type
- Working Paper
- Authors
- Barducci, D.; Fabbrichesi, M.; Gabrielli, E.
- Source
- Phys. Rev. D 98, 035049 (2018)
- Subject
- High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
- Language
We study the invisible decay of neutral hadrons in a representative model of the dark sector. The mesons $K_L$ and $B^0$ decay into the dark sector with branching rates that can be at the current experimental limits. The neutron decays with a rate that could either explain the neutron lifetime puzzle (although only for an extreme choice of the parameters and a fine tuned value of the masses) or be just above the current limit of its invisible decay ($\tau_N^{\rm inv} \ge 10^{29}$ years) if kinematically allowed. These invisible decays of ordinary matter provide a novel and promising window into new physics that should be vigorously pursued.
Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Extended text to match published version