Search for charge non-conservation and Pauli exclusion principle violation with the Majorana Demonstrator

• Published in: Nature physics Vol. 20; no. 7; pp. 1078 - 1083
• Main Authors: Arnquist, I. J., Avignone, F. T., Barabash, A. S., Barton, C. J., Bhimani, K. H., Blalock, E., Bos, B., Busch, M., Buuck, M., Caldwell, T. S., Chan, Y-D., Christofferson, C. D., Chu, P.-H., Clark, M. L., Cuesta, C., Detwiler, J. A., Efremenko, Yu, Ejiri, H., Elliott, S. R., Giovanetti, G. K., Green, M. P., Gruszko, J., Guinn, I. S., Guiseppe, V. E., Haufe, C. R., Henning, R., Aguilar, D. Hervas, Hoppe, E. W., Hostiuc, A., Kidd, M. F., Kim, I., Kouzes, R. T., Lannen V, T. E., Li, A., López-Castaño, J. M., Martin, E. L., Martin, R. D., Massarczyk, R., Meijer, S. J., Oli, T. K., Paudel, L. S., Pettus, W., Poon, A. W. P., Radford, D. C., Reine, A. L., Rielage, K., Ruof, N. W., Schaper, D. C., Tedeschi, D., Varner, R. L., Vasilyev, S., Wilkerson, J. F., Wiseman, C., Xu, W., Yu, C.-H., Zhu, B. X.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.07.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Publishing Group (NPG)
• Subjects: 639/766/419/1131; 639/766/483/1139; Atomic; Atoms & subatomic particles; Classical and Continuum Physics; Complex Systems; Condensed Matter Physics; Conservation; Energy; Germanium; Ionization; Lifetime; Mathematical and Computational Physics; Molecular; Neutrinos; NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; Optical and Plasma Physics; Particle decay; Particle physics; Pauli exclusion principle; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum physics; Searching; Sensors; Standard model (particle physics); Symmetry; Theoretical; Violations
• ISSN: 1745-2473; 1745-2481
• DOI: 10.1038/s41567-024-02437-9

Charge conservation and the Pauli exclusion principle result from fundamental symmetries in the standard model of particle physics, and are typically taken as axiomatic. High-precision tests for small violations of these symmetries could point to new physics. Here we consider three models for violation of these processes, which would produce detectable ionization in the high-purity germanium detectors of the M ajorana D emonstrator experiment. Using a 37.5 kg yr exposure, we report a lower limit on the electron mean lifetime, improving the previous best limit for the e → ν e ν e ¯ ν e decay channel by more than an order of magnitude. We also present searches for two types of violation of the Pauli exclusion principle, setting limits on the probability of an electron to be found in a symmetric quantum state. The M ajorana D emonstrator experiment reports searches for the violation of the Pauli exclusion principle and of charge conservation. In the absence of a signal, exclusion limits for these processes are reported.