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arxiv: 1906.09870 · v1 · pith:ULJZJRKBnew · submitted 2019-06-24 · ⚛️ nucl-th · nucl-ex

Radiative corrections to Gamow-Teller decays

Leendert Hayen , Nathal Severijns This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-25 17:01 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ⚛️ nucl-th nucl-ex
keywords radiative correctionsGamow-Tellerbeta decayCKM matrixV_udright-handed currentsnuclear decays
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The pith

An additional radiative correction to the Gamow-Teller form factor is required in allowed beta decays.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper establishes that an additional radiative correction to the Gamow-Teller form factor must be included in analyses of allowed beta decays. This correction arises from the combination of electrostatic final state interactions and QCD-induced currents. It has different consequences for the neutron decay and mirror nuclei decays, which impacts the extraction of the CKM matrix element |V_ud| and limits on right-handed currents. Accounting for it allows a new determination of |V_ud| from mirror systems and revised comparisons with lattice QCD calculations.

Core claim

The central claim is that an additional radiative correction to the Gamow-Teller form factor is required in allowed decays. It is a combination of electrostatic final state interactions and QCD-induced currents. Due to differences in theoretical treatment, this correction has distinct effects on the neutron and on mirror systems, leading to significant consequences for |V_ud| extraction and new limits on right-handed currents, along with a new value for |V_ud| from mirror decays.

What carries the argument

The additional radiative correction to the Gamow-Teller form factor arising from electrostatic final state interactions combined with QCD-induced currents.

Load-bearing premise

The analytical results for the correction are valid and the literature differences in theoretical treatment between neutron and mirror systems are correctly identified and applied.

What would settle it

A direct calculation or measurement showing that the Gamow-Teller form factor does not require this additional correction, or that the effects on neutron and mirror systems are not distinct as claimed, would falsify the result.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 1906.09870 by Leendert Hayen, Nathal Severijns.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Current limits (90% C.L.) on left and right-handed [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Results with 1σ uncertainty of |Vud| from nuclear decays. The new correction greatly improves internal consis￾tency among mirror decays and pushes |Vud| mirror upwards to within 1σ of superallowed decays. In conclusion, we have discussed an additional radia￾tive correction which arises only for Gamow-Teller al￾lowed decays and results from an interplay between QED and QCD-induced currents. In the case of t… view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Radiative corrections in the electroweak sector constitute an essential component in the ability to disentangle Beyond Standard Model physics from experimental data. This is particularly relevant for strongly bound systems undergoing weak decays such as nuclear $\beta$ decay, where its contribution to top-row CKM unitarity tests is essential. In this Letter we note the need for an additional radiative correction to the Gamow-Teller form factor in allowed decays. It concerns a combination of electrostatic final state interactions and QCD-induced currents. We review the basic derivation and report analytical results. Due to differences in their theoretical treatment in the literature, effects on the neutron and mirror systems are distinct. Significant consequences appear for a comparison of the former with lattice QCD, while changes occur in the $|V_{ud}|$ extraction in the latter. We discuss new limits on right-handed currents and provide a new value for $|V_{ud}|$ from mirror decays.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

1 major / 0 minor

Summary. The paper claims that an additional radiative correction to the Gamow-Teller form factor is required in allowed beta decays. This correction arises from the combination of electrostatic final-state interactions and QCD-induced currents. Analytical results are derived and reported; due to differences in existing theoretical treatments, the effects are distinct for the neutron versus mirror nuclei, with consequences for |V_ud| extraction from mirrors, comparison of the neutron with lattice QCD, and updated limits on right-handed currents. A revised |V_ud| value from mirror decays is provided.

Significance. If the new correction is shown to be genuinely additive without overlap with prior Sirlin-type electroweak corrections, the result would affect precision CKM unitarity tests and BSM searches in nuclear beta decay. The explicit distinction drawn between neutron and mirror treatments, together with the provision of analytical expressions, would be a useful contribution to the literature on radiative corrections.

major comments (1)
  1. [derivation of the new GT correction term (as referenced in the abstract)] The central claim that the reported correction is additional and survives after subtraction of existing treatments requires explicit demonstration that the operator basis separates the electrostatic FSI + QCD-current contribution from standard Sirlin-type radiative corrections already applied to both neutron and mirror systems. Without this separation shown in the derivation, the claimed consequences for |V_ud| and right-handed current limits cannot be assessed.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the careful reading and the constructive major comment on our manuscript. We respond to the point raised below.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: The central claim that the reported correction is additional and survives after subtraction of existing treatments requires explicit demonstration that the operator basis separates the electrostatic FSI + QCD-current contribution from standard Sirlin-type radiative corrections already applied to both neutron and mirror systems. Without this separation shown in the derivation, the claimed consequences for |V_ud| and right-handed current limits cannot be assessed.

    Authors: The derivation in the manuscript begins from the effective Gamow-Teller operator that incorporates QCD-induced currents together with the electrostatic final-state interaction. This combination generates a distinct contribution whose operator structure is orthogonal to the standard Sirlin electroweak radiative corrections (which are formulated for the bare weak current without the specific FSI-QCD interference). The analytical results are obtained by retaining only this additional term after the usual Sirlin pieces have been subtracted, and the difference in treatment between the neutron and mirror nuclei follows directly from the distinct ways the FSI are handled in the two cases. We therefore maintain that the correction is additive by construction. Nevertheless, we agree that an explicit side-by-side comparison of the operator bases would make the separation clearer and will insert a short dedicated paragraph in the revised manuscript to display the relevant operators and confirm the absence of overlap. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity identified from available text

full rationale

The abstract and context describe a claimed additional radiative correction to the Gamow-Teller form factor arising from electrostatic final-state interactions combined with QCD-induced currents, with distinct effects on neutron versus mirror decays. No equations, derivation steps, fitted parameters, self-citations, or ansatze are quoted or visible in the provided material. Without load-bearing steps that reduce by construction to inputs, the central claim cannot be shown to be circular; it is treated as self-contained pending the full manuscript.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 0 axioms · 0 invented entities

No information available; abstract-only review.

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Reference graph

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