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arXiv · 1501.06468

Probing the braneworld hypothesis with a neutron-shining-through-a-wall experiment

Abstract

The possibility for our visible world to be a 3-brane embedded in a multidimensional bulk is at the heart of many theoretical edifices in high-energy physics. Probing the braneworld hypothesis is thus a major experimental challenge. Following recent theoretical works showing that matter swapping between braneworlds can occur, we propose a neutron-shining-through-a-wall experiment. We first show that an intense neutron source such as a nuclear reactor core can induce a hidden neutron flux in an adjacent hidden braneworld. We then describe how a low-background detector can detect neutrons arising from the hidden world and quantify the expected sensitivity to the swapping probability. As a proof of concept, a constraint is derived from previous experiments.

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Michael Sarrazin, Guillaume Pignol, Jacob Lamblin, Fabrice Petit, Guy Terwagne, Valery V. Nesvizhevsky. 2015-04-20. Probing the braneworld hypothesis with a neutron-shining-through-a-wall experiment. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.91.075013

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