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An Improved Limit on Pauli-Exclusion-Principle Forbidden Atomic Transitions

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Abstract

We have examined the atomic theory behind recent constraints on the violation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle derived from experiments that look for X-rays emitted from conductors while a large current is present. We also re-examine the assumptions underlying such experiments. We use the results of these studies to assess pilot measurements to develop an improved test of the Principle. We present an improved limit of \(\frac{1}{2}\beta^{2} < 2.6\times10^{-39}\) on the Pauli Exclusion Principle. This limit is the best to date for interactions between a system of fermions and a fermion that has not previously interacted with that given system. That is, for systems that do not obviously violate the Messiah-Greenberg symmetrization-postulate selection rule.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics under Contract No. 2011LANLE9BW. MHC’s work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344. We thank Keith Rielage and Yuri Efremenko for a careful reading of the manuscript. We thank Larry Rodriguez and Harry Salazar for helpful technical discussions. We thank P. Vogel, R. Mohapatra, and O.W. Greenberg for useful discussions of the theory.

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Author notes

  1. V. M. Gehman

    Present address: Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

  2. B. H. LaRoque

    Present address: Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA

    S. R. Elliott, B. H. LaRoque, V. M. Gehman & M. F. Kidd

  2. Department of Physics and Life Sciences, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA

    M. Chen

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  1. S. R. Elliott
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Correspondence to S. R. Elliott.

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Elliott, S.R., LaRoque, B.H., Gehman, V.M. et al. An Improved Limit on Pauli-Exclusion-Principle Forbidden Atomic Transitions. Found Phys 42, 1015–1030 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-012-9643-y

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