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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

How fast can protons decay?

classification hep-ph hep-ex
keywords laboratorylifetimeprotonprotonstimeastrophysicalboundscompelling
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
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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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