https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s2004-01991-1
experimental physics
New experimental limits on violations of the Pauli exclusion principle obtained with the Borexino Counting Test Facility
1
Physics Department, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Robeson Hall, VA 24061-0435, Blacksburg, USA
2
I.N.F.N Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, SS 17 bis Km 18+910, 67010, Assergi(AQ), Italy
3
Dipartimento di Fisica Nucleare e Teorica Universita’ and I.N.F.N., Via A. Bassi 6, 27100, Pavia, Italy
4
Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire et Cosmologie, 11 place Marcelin, Berthelot, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France
5
Dipartimento di Fisica Universitá and I.N.F.N., Via Celoria 16, 20133, Milano, Italy
6
Dept. of Physics, Princeton University, Jadwin Hall, Washington Rd, NJ 08544-0708, Princeton, USA
7
Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Postfach 103 980, 69029, Heidelberg, Germany
8
Dept. of Physics, Queen’s University Stirling Hall, K7L 3N6, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
9
Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse E15, 85747, Garching, Germany
10
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980, Dubna, Russia
11
Dept. of Physics Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA 02139, Cambridge, USA
12
Dipartimento di Chimica, Universitá, Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, 06123, Perugia, Italy
13
RRC Kurchatov Institute, Kurchatov Sq. 1, 123182, Moscow, Russia
14
Dipartimento di Fisica Universitá and I.N.F.N., Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genova, Italy
15
KFKI-RMKI, Konkoly Thege ut 29-33, 1121, Budapest, Hungary
16
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, NJ 07974-2070, Murray Hill, USA
17
M .Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagellonian University, 30059, Krakow, Poland
* e-mail: derbin@mail.pnpi.spb.ru
The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) has been tested for nucleons (n,p) in and
nuclei, using the results of background measurements with the prototype of the Borexino detector, the Counting Test Facility (CTF). The approach consisted of a search for
, n, p and/or
’s emitted in a non-Paulian transition of 1P- shell nucleons to the filled 1S
1/2 shell in nuclei. Similarly, the Pauli-forbidden
decay processes were searched for. Due to the extremely low background and the large mass (4.2 tons) of the CTF detector, the following most stringent up-to-date experimental bounds on PEP violating transitions of nucleons have been established:
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,
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,
and
, all at
C.L.
© Springer-Verlag, 2004