A Composite Solution to the Neutron Bottle Anomaly

Abstract

Measurements of the lifetime of neutrons trapped in a bottle have been consistently shorter than the lifetime measured in neutron beam experiments. With trapping potentials as low as 50 neV and neutron detectors located only at the top of the bottle, this discrepancy could be the result of the soft scattering of dark matter with neutrons. However, it is challenging to obtain the observed loss rate in conventional models of dark matter scattering. We show that this phenomenology is possible in composite models of dark matter where the soft scattering is from dark matter that has been captured and accumulated in the earth. This solution can be tested by placing more neutron detectors around the trap, providing better angular coverage. The phenomenology of soft scattering by trapped composite dark matter is generic and suggests new experimental directions that could be pursued to detect this large class of models.

arXiv comment11 pages and 2 figures

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• Novel neutron decay mode inside neutron stars
• Optimal Celestial Bodies for Dark Matter Detection
• Neutron Lifetime Anomaly and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• How Macroscopic Limits on Neutron Star Baryon Loss Yield Microscopic Limits on Non-Standard-Model Baryon Decay
• Probing Dark Sectors with Neutron Stars
• Helium film may greatly increase the storage time of ultracold neutrons in material traps
• On the possibility of a significant increase in the storage time of ultracold neutrons in traps coated with a liquid helium film
• Improving of ultracold neutron traps coated with liquid helium using capillarity and electric field
• Detection of molecular hydrogen in a neutron beam lifetime experiment