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A Magnetic Sweep Narrowed the Mirror-Neutron Gap

Laboratory measurements constrained ordinary-to-sterile neutron oscillations across a 0.3-to-22-peV mass-difference range.

Published Updated Story ID: mp-2026-08-13-019
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Summary

Laboratory measurements constrained ordinary-to-sterile neutron oscillations across a 0.3-to-22-peV mass-difference range.

Fields from 5 to 360 microtesla set oscillation-time limits reaching about 20 seconds. In parts of the tested range, the laboratory constraint is stronger than a model-dependent neutron-star-cooling estimate; it is an exclusion result, not evidence that mirror neutrons exist.

Why it matters

Laboratory measurements constrained ordinary-to-sterile neutron oscillations across a 0.3-to-22-peV mass-difference range.

Limits and context

  • In parts of the tested range, the laboratory constraint is stronger than a model-dependent neutron-star-cooling estimate; it is an exclusion result, not evidence that mirror neutrons exist.

Key claims

  1. Laboratory measurements constrained ordinary-to-sterile neutron oscillations across a 0.3-to-22-peV mass-difference range.

    Qualification: In parts of the tested range, the laboratory constraint is stronger than a model-dependent neutron-star-cooling estimate; it is an exclusion result, not evidence that mirror neutrons exist.

    Evidence: source-2026-08-13-021

Sources

  1. arXiv preprint 2608.12173arXiv · primary research

Corrections

No corrections have been recorded for this story.