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[PAST EVENT] Physics Colloquium  - Nadia Fomin

February 5, 2020
4pm - 5pm
Location
Small Hall, Room 111
300 Ukrop Way
Williamsburg, VA 23185Map this location
Access & Features
  • Open to the public

Nadia Fomin, University of Tennessee, Title of Talk: The life and death of the free neutron

Abstract:
Neutron beta decay is an archetype for all semi-leptonic charged-current weak processes. A precise value for the neutron lifetime is required for consistency tests of the Standard Model and is needed to predict the primordial 4He abundance from the theory of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Other parameters from neutron beta decay, in combination with the neutron lifetime, can be used to extract the Vud parameter in the quark mixing matrix of the Standard Model, providing a useful test of new physics. These are all quantities that have been in flux in recent years, with the advent of high precision experiments. The status of the field as well as recent and upcoming measurements will be presented.