Limits on $\boldmath n {\bar n}$ oscillations from nuclear stability

Abstract

The relationship between the lower limit on the nuclear stability lifetime as derived from the non disappearance of `stable` nuclei ($T_{d}~\gtrsim~5.4~\times~10^{31}$ yr), and the lower limit thus implied on the oscillation time $(τ_{n \bar n})$ of a possibly underlying neutron-antineutron oscillation process, is clarified by studying the time evolution of the nuclear decay within a simple model which respects unitarity. The order-of-magnitude result $τ_{n \bar n} \approx 2 (T_{d}/Γ_{\bar n})^{1/2} > 2 \times 10^{8}$ sec, where $Γ_{\bar n}$ is a typical $\bar n$ nuclear annihilation width, agrees as expected with the limit on $τ_{n \bar n}$ established by several detailed nuclear physics calculations, but sharply disagreeing by 15 orders of magnitude with a claim published recently in Phys. Rev. CRAP.

8 pages; this PRC version (accepted for publication, November 4 1999) differs from the original version only by a few minor editorial changes