New experimental limit on the Pauli Exclusion Principle violation by electrons--the VIP experiment

The Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) is one of the basic principles of modern physics and, even if there are no compelling reasons to doubt its validity, it is still debated today because an intuitive, elementary explanation is still missing, and because of its unique stand among the basic symmetries...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Curceanu, C., Bragadireanu, M., Sirghi, D., Sirghi, F., 'Horia Hulubei' National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Str. Atomistilor no. 407, P.O. Box MG-6, Bucharest-Magurele, Bartalucci, S., Guaraldo, C., Iliescu, M., Pietreanu, D., Romero Vidal, A., Sperandio, L., Vazquez Doce, A., Bertolucci, S., European Laboratory for Particle Physics, Cargnelli, M., Ishiwatari, T., Marton, J., Widmann, E., Zmeskal, J., Di Matteo, S., Egger, J.-P., Laubenstein, M.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMS
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
COPPER
DATA ACQUISITION
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY LEVELS
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
FERMIONS
LEPTONS
MECHANICS
METALS
PAULI PRINCIPLE
PROBABILITY
QUANTUM MECHANICS
S STATES
SYMMETRY
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) is one of the basic principles of modern physics and, even if there are no compelling reasons to doubt its validity, it is still debated today because an intuitive, elementary explanation is still missing, and because of its unique stand among the basic symmetries of physics. We present an experimental test of the validity of the Pauli Exclusion Principle for electrons based on a straightforward idea put forward a few years ago by Ramberg and Snow (E. Ramberg and G. A. Snow 1990 Phys. Lett. B 238 438). We performed a very accurate search of X-rays from the Pauli-forbidden atomic transitions of electrons in the already filled 1S shells of copper atoms. Although the experiment has a very simple structure, it poses deep conceptual and interpretational problems. Here we describe the experimental method and recent experimental results interpreted as an upper limit for the probability to violate the Pauli Exclusion Principle. We also present future plans to upgrade the experimental apparatus.
ISSN:0094-243X
1551-7616
DOI:10.1063/1.3431490