Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TIME AND SPACE
Neutrons escaping to a parallel world?
by Staff Writers
London, UK (SPX) Jun 20, 2012


Illustration only.

In a paper recently published in EPJ C, researchers hypothesised the existence of mirror particles to explain the anomalous loss of neutrons observed experimentally. The existence of such mirror matter had been suggested in various scientific contexts some time ago, including the search for suitable dark matter candidates.

Theoretical physicists Zurab Berezhiani and Fabrizio Nesti from the University of l'Aquila, Italy, reanalysed the experimental data obtained by the research group of Anatoly Serebrov at the Institut Laue-Langevin, France.

It showed that the loss rate of very slow free neutrons appeared to depend on the direction and strength of the magnetic field applied. This anomaly could not be explained by known physics.

Berezhiani believes it could be interpreted in the light of a hypothetical parallel world consisting of mirror particles. Each neutron would have the ability to transition into its invisible mirror twin, and back, oscillating from one world to the other.

The probability of such a transition happening was predicted to be sensitive to the presence of magnetic fields, and could therefore be detected experimentally.

This neutron-mirror-neutron oscillation could occur within a timescale of a few seconds, according to the paper. The possibility of such a fast disappearance of neutrons-much faster than the ten-minute long neutron decay-albeit surprising, could not be excluded by existing experimental and astrophysical limits.

This interpretation is subject to the condition that the earth possesses a mirror magnetic field on the order of 0.1 Gauss. Such a field could be induced by mirror particles floating around in the galaxy as dark matter. Hypothetically, the earth could capture the mirror matter via some feeble interactions between ordinary particles and those from parallel worlds.

1. Z. Berezhiani, F. Nesti, Magnetic anomaly in UCN trapping: signal for neutron oscillations to parallel world? (2012), European Physical Journal C 72: 1974, DOI 10.1140/epjc/s10052-012-1974-5.

.


Related Links
Springer
Understanding Time and Space






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TIME AND SPACE
No evidence for 'knots' in space
London UK (SPX) Jun 14, 2012
Theories of the primordial Universe predict the existence of knots in the fabric of space - known as cosmic textures - which could be identified by looking at light from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the relic radiation left over from the Big Bang. Using data from NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite, researchers from UCL, Imperial College London and the Pe ... read more


TIME AND SPACE
Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behaviour

UA Lunar-Mining Team Wins National Contest

NASA Lunar Spacecraft Complete Prime Mission Ahead of Schedule

NASA Offers Guidelines To Protect Historic Sites On The Moon

TIME AND SPACE
ESA tests self-steering rover in 'Mars' desert

Opportunity Faces Slow Going Due To Communication Issues

Test of Spare Wheel Puts Odyssey on Path to Recovery

Impact atlas catalogs over 635,000 Martian craters

TIME AND SPACE
West must cut appetite for cars and TVs, says UN official

Flying to space is also women's work: Russian cosmonaut

Data From Voyager 1 Points To Interstellar Future

The pressure is on for aquanauts

TIME AND SPACE
Rocket Scientist Who 'Spied for China' Freed

Backup Plans for Tiangong

Liu Yang: China's first female astronaut

Contingency plans to address 700 space scenarios

TIME AND SPACE
Did You Say 1.2 Billion Particles Per Month?

Varied Views from the ISS

Strange Geometry - Yes, It's All About the Math

Capillarity in Space - Then and Now, 1962-2012

TIME AND SPACE
A milestone in launcher preparations for Arianespace's fourth Ariane 5 flight of 2012

US military launches new satellite into space

NASA Administrator Bolden Views Historic SpaceX Dragon Capsule

NASA's NuSTAR Mission Lifts Off

TIME AND SPACE
Extremely little telescope discovers pair of odd planets

Alien Earths Could Form Earlier than Expected

Planets can form around different types of stars

Small Planets Don't Need 'Heavy Metal' Stars to Form

TIME AND SPACE
Malaysia rare earths plant gets go-ahead

All the colors of a high-energy rainbow, in a tightly focused beam

GTRI researchers develop prototype automated pavement crack detection and sealing system

Ionic liquid improves speed and efficiency of hydrogen-producing catalyst




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement