March 3, 2014 16:10 WSPC 9 x 6 02Marciano-v3 page 1

Neutron Lifetime Theory

W. J. MARCIANO
Brookhaven National Laboratory
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
marciano@bnl.gov

Standard Model electroweak radiative corrections to the neutron lifetime, n ,

are reviewed. A resulting Master Relation connecting n , gA and Vud is de-
scribed. The utility of measuring n and gA to 0.01% as a means of definitively
testing CKM unitarity is discussed.

Keywords: Neutron lifetime

The neutron lifetime, n , is of fundamental importance in low energy nuclear

physics.13 Its value directly impacts primordial nucleosynthesis constraints
on the eective number of neutrino species. In addition, n , used together
with the muon lifetime and CKM matrix element, Vud , determines gA
GA /GV at q 2  0 with very high precision.4 That non-perturbative QCD
parameter has changed dramatically over the years, increasing1 from gA 
1.18 1.13 1.25 1.27 over time. Its value also impacts primordial
nucleosyntehesis, as well as: solar and reactor neutrino ux calculations,
the Goldberger-Treiman relation, muon capture,5 the Bjorken Sum Rule
etc., all topics of current interest. In this talk, however, I will not discuss
those applications. Instead, I focus on the utility of n and gA , measured
to 0.01% as a means of determining the CKM matrix element, Vud , with
high precision,  0.02%, independent of nuclear uncertainties. |Vud |, used
in conjunction with |Vus | and |Vub | allows for a denitive test of CKM
unitarity via the relationship6

|Vud |2 + |Vus |2 + |Vub |2 = 1 (1)

An apparent experimental deviation from 1 would be indicative of new

physics.
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The current best value of Vud , obtained from an average of super-allowed

(0+ 0+ ) nuclear beta decays over a broad range of nuclei7

|Vud | = 0.97425(11)nuclear(19)RC (2)

used together with |Vus | = 0.2253(9) obtained from K decays8 and the
rather negligible |Vub |2 = 1.5 105 leads to

|Vud |2 + |Vus |2 + |Vub |2 = 0.9999(4)Vud (4)Vus (3)

in excellent agreement with unitarity and showing no sign of new physics.

Eq. (3) has been used to constrain:9 heavy quark or lepton mixing, super-
symmetry, charged Higgs scalars, excited gauge bosons etc. However, de-
spite the small nuclear error in eq. (2) and continuing eorts to validate
it, there remain questions regarding the magnitude of nuclear Coulombic
isospin breaking corrections.7 Qualitative estimates1013 suggest the pos-
sibility of a smaller |Vud |. For that reason, it would be useful to have a
competitive determination of |Vud | via neutron beta decay which is inde-
pendent of nuclear physics uncertainties.
To confront |Vud | with 0.02% (or better) precision in neutron decay,
requires careful consideration of electroweak radiative corrections to n and
gA . The standard approach, pioneered by Sirlin14 is to compare the neutron
lifetime, n , with the precisely measured muon lifetime15

+ = 2.1969803(22) 106 sec (4)

where the full 1 & 2 loop radiative corrections are known. With their in-
clusion, the muon lifetime then leads to a very accurate Fermi constant
determination15

G = 1.1663787(6) 105 GeV2 (5)

which is used to normalize all other weak interaction amplitudes. In the

case of the neutron decay rate (inverse lifetime), one nds4

n1 = f G2 |Vud |2 m5e (1 + 3gA

2
)(1 + RC)/2 3 (6)

where

f = 1.6887 (7)
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is a phase-space factor that includes:16 Fermi function eects, proton recoil,

nucleon size corrections etc. RC in that expression represents the Standard
Model (SM) electroweak radiative corrections to n not already absorbed
into G . The quantity gA GA /GV is essentially dened by eq. (6), but
determined independently using neutron decay nal state asymmetries.1
The RC in eq. (6) are nite and calculable. At the 1 loop level14

RC = [g(Emax  + 3n(mZ /mp ) + n(mZ /mA ) + 2C + AQCD ] (8)
2

where g(E) is the Universal Sirlin Function17 which is averaged over the
neutron decay spectrum to give

g(Emax ) = 0.015056. (9)
2

The nmZ terms are short-distance vector and axial-vector loop correc-
tions from the W box diagrams with mA  1.2 GeV a long-short distance
matching scale. The long distance axial C  0.8gA(n + p )  0.9 and
perturbative QCD corrections to the short-distance axial-current contri-
bution, AQCD  0.34. Most of the RC uncertainty resides in the rough
loop matching condition parametrized by mA . Higher order loop corrections
give an additional +0.0013(1) contribution to eq. (8) such that in 2004, one
found,4 RC  0.0390(8). Later,18 smoother matching conditions were em-
ployed along with additional perturbative QCD corrections to improve RC
to

1 + RC = 1.03886(39) (10)

where the uncertainty was reduced by about 1/2.

Employing eq. (10) in eq. (2) leads to the master neutron decay relation

4908.7(1.9) sec
|Vud |2 = 2) (11)
n (1 + 3gA

connecting |Vud |, n and gA . Future more aggressive treatment of the error

budget together with the use of dispersion relations could reduce the error
in eq. (11) by about a factor of 2/3; however, beyond that will be dicult.
Planned experimental programs will aim for 0.01% determinations of
n and gA , leading to Vud /Vud  0.0002 with the primary uncertainty
coming from the RC error in eq. (10). At that level of precision, neutron
March 3, 2014 16:10 WSPC 9 x 6 02Marciano-v3 page 4

decay will be competitive with super-allowed nuclear beta decays for de-
termining |Vud |, but without the nuclear uncertainty. Will it conrm or
challenge the unitarity constraint in eq. (3)?
Instead of using the Master Relation in eq. (11) to determine |Vud |,
one can employ |Vud | = 0.97425(11)nucl.(19)RC from superallowed nuclear
decays (or similarly from |Vus | + unitarity), in which case eq. (11) gives
2
n (1 + 3gA ) = 5171.6(1.2) sec (12)
Consistency with the current PDG average, nave = 880.1(1.1) sec then
requires
gA = 1.2749(10)n (2)nucl. (13)
exp
So, one expects gA to be heading higher, toward 1.275 if the central nave
remains xed and unitarity is respected. That expectation is consistent with
the recent single best measurement from Perkeo II,19 gA = 1.2755(13).
The next few years should be very exciting for neutron decay studies. We
exp
will watch nexp and gA advance forward towards 0.01% accuracy. Where
will they wind up? Will they satisfy the unitary relationship in eq. (12) or
will they present us with an inconsistency suggesting new physics?

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