Publications
Publication Information
| Title | Search for a bound di-neutron by comparing $^3$He(e,e'p)d and $^3$H(e,e'p)X measurements |
| Authors | Dien Nguyen, Carmel Neuburger, Reynier Cruz Torres, Axel Schmidt, Douglas Higinbotham, Julian Kahlbow, Peter Monaghan, Eliazer Piasetzky, O. Hen |
| JLAB number | JLAB-PHY-21-3505 |
| LANL number | arXiv:2109.14524 |
| Other number | DOE/OR/23177-5322 |
| Document Type(s) | (Journal Article) |
| Associated with EIC: | No |
| Supported by Jefferson Lab LDRD Funding: | No |
| Funding Source: | Nuclear Physics (NP) |
|
Journal Compiled for Physics Letters B Volume 831 Page(s) 137165 Refereed | |
| Publication Abstract: | We report on a search for a bound di-neutron by comparing electron-induced proton-knockout (e,e'p) measurements from Helium-3 (3He) and Tritium (3H). The measurements were performed at Jefferson Lab Hall A with a 4.326 GeV electron beam, and kinematics of large momentum transfer ( Q2 approx. 1.9 (GeV/c)2) and xB > 1, to minimize contributions from non quasi-elastic (QE) reaction mechanisms. Analyzing the measured 3He missing mass (Mmiss) and missing energy (Emiss) distributions, we can distinguish the two-body break-up reaction, in which the residual proton-neutron system remains bound as a deuteron. In the 3H mirror case, under the exact same kinematic conditions, we do not identify a signature for a bound di-neutron with similar binding energy to that of the deuteron. We calculate exclusion limits as a function of the di-neutron binding energy and find that, for binding equivalent to the deuteron, the two-body break-up cross section on Tritium is less than 0.9% of that on Helium-3 in the measured kinematics at the 95% coincidence level. This limit implies that the di-neutron content of the tritium spectral function is less than 1.5%. |
| Experiment Numbers: | E12-14-011 |
| Group: | Hall A |
| Document: | |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2022.137165 |
| Accepted Manuscript: | 1-s2.0-S0370269322002994-main.pdf |
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