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How fast can protons decay?

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arxiv 2410.19045 v2 pith:MN6B5VIU submitted 2024-10-24 hep-ph hep-ex

classification hep-phhep-ex
keywords laboratorylifetimeprotonprotonstimeastrophysicalboundscompelling
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal
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abstract

Current laboratory bounds imply that protons are extremely long-lived. However, this conclusion may not hold for all time and in all of space. We find that the proton lifetime can be $\sim 15$ orders of magnitude shorter in the relatively recent past on Earth, or at the present time elsewhere in the Milky Way. A number of terrestrial and astrophysical constraints are examined and potential signals are outlined. We also sketch possible models that could lead to spatial or temporal variations in the proton lifetime. A positive signal could be compelling evidence for a new long range force of Nature, with important implications for the limitations of fundamental inferences based solely on laboratory measurements.

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Cited by 2 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. Correlated signals of ultralight scalar dark matter in pulsar timing

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 conditional novelty 7.0 of 10

    A finite-spatial-correlation Gaussian-field prior for PTA ULDM signals interpolates between fully correlated and uncorrelated limits and is validated on blinded mock data for linear and quadratic couplings.

  2. Nucleon Decays into Light New Particles in Neutrino Detectors

    hep-ph 2025-06 conditional novelty 5.0 of 10

    Nucleon decays into light new particles can hide from water-Cherenkov detectors when the charged partner is slow, while Earth-born fluxes of the decay products could be visible in existing underground detectors.

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