Lindblad and Bloch equations for conversion of a neutron into an antineutron

Abstract

We propose a new approach based on the Lindblad and Bloch equations for the density matrix to the problem of a neutron into an antineutron conversion. We consider three strategies to search for conversion: experiments with trapped neutrons, oscillations in nuclei, and quasi-free propagation. We draw a distinction between $n\bar{n}$ oscillations in which the probability that a neutron transforms into an antineutron depends on time according to the sine-square law and the non-oscillatory overdamped $n\bar{n}$ conversion. We show that in all three cases decoherence due to the interaction with the environment leads to non-oscillatory evolution.

14 pages, 1 figure; v4: the title, the Abstract and Section IV are replaced, new references added, style in some places improved

References in corpus (15)

• Neutron -- Mirror Neutron Oscillation: How Fast Might It Be?
• Heavy quark master equations in the Lindblad form at high temperatures
• Experimental search for neutron - mirror neutron oscillations using storage of ultracold neutrons
• A direct experimental limit on neutron -- mirror neutron oscillations
• Neutron to Mirror-Neutron Oscillations in the Presence of Mirror Magnetic Fields
• The search for neutron-antineutron oscillations at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
• Lindblad Equation for the Inelastic Loss of Ultracold Atoms
• Study of temporal quantum correlations in decohering B and K meson systems
• Lindblad Decoherence in Atomic Clocks
• Probing the braneworld hypothesis with a neutron-shining-through-a-wall experiment
• Neutron-Mirror-Neutron Oscillations in a Trap
• Matter localization and resonant deconfinement in a two-sheeted spacetime
• The NNbar Experiment at the European Spallation Source
• Damping and Decoherence in Neutron Oscillations
• A quest for new physics inside the neutron

Cited by in corpus (11)

• New high-sensitivity searches for neutrons converting into antineutrons and/or sterile neutrons at the European Spallation Source
• Study of coherence and mixedness in meson and neutrino systems
• Density Matrix Formalism for PT-Symmetric Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with the Lindblad Equation
• Quantum correlations and the neutrino mass degeneracy problem
• Quantum correlations in neutrino oscillations in curved spacetime
• The Development of the NNBAR Experiment
• The effect of collisions with the wall on neutron-antineutron transitions
• A new approach to search for free neutron-antineutron oscillations using coherent neutron propagation in gas
• Can NSI affect non-local correlations in neutrino oscillations?
• Neutron-Mirror Neutron conversion in Vacuum, Trap, Material and Neutron Star
• Quantum speed of evolution of neutral mesons