Neutron disappearance and regeneration from a mirror state

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that if the transformation of a neutron to a mirror neutron exists with an oscillation time of the order of 10 seconds, it can be detected in a rather simple disappearance and/or regeneration type experiment with an intense beam of cold neutrons. In the presence of a conjectural mirror magnetic field of unknown magnitude and direction, the resonance transformation conditions can be found by scanning the magnitude of the ordinary magnetic field in the range, e.g., ±100 μT. Magnetic field is assumed to be uniform along the path of the neutron beam. If the transformation effect exists within this range, the direction and possible time variation of the mirror magnetic field can be determined with additional dedicated measurements.