Angular Correlations in the β Decay of B8: First Tensor-Current Limits from a Mirror-Nucleus Pair

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 130; no. 19
• Main Authors: Gallant, A. T., Scielzo, N. D., Savard, G., Clark, J. A., Brodeur, M., Buchinger, F., Burdette, D. P., Burkey, M. T., Caldwell, S., Crawford, J. E., Czeszumska, A., Deibel, C. M., Greene, J., Heslop, D., Hirsh, T. Y., Levand, A. F., Longfellow, B., Morgan, G. E., Mueller, P., Orford, R., Padgett, S., Paul, N., Galván, A. Pérez, Reimer, A., Segel, R., Sharma, K. S., Siegl, K., Varriano, L., Zabransky, B. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physical Society (APS) 12-05-2023
• Subjects: 6 ≤ A ≤ 19; Beta decay; Cooling & trapping; Nuclear tests of fundamental interactions; PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Radioactive beams; Trapped ions
• ISSN: 0031-9007; 1079-7114

We present the first measurement of the α–β–ν angular correlation in the Gamow-Teller β+ decay of 8B. This was accomplished using the Beta-decay Paul Trap, expanding on our previous work on the β– decay of 8Li. The 8B result is consistent with the V – A electroweak interaction of the standard model and, on its own, provides a limit on the exotic right-handed tensor current relative to the axial-vector current of |CT/CA|2 < 0.013 at the 95.5% confidence level. This represents the first high-precision angular correlation measurements in mirror decays and was made possible through the use of an ion trap. Here, by combining this 8B result with our previous 8Li results, we demonstrate a new pathway for increased precision in searches for exotic currents.