Abstract
Abstract We calculate the median as well as weighted mean central estimates for the neutron lifetime from a subset of measurements compiled in the 2019 update of the Particle Data Group (PDG). We then reconstruct the error distributions for the residuals using three different central estimates and then check for consistency with a Gaussian distribution. We find that although the error distributions using the weighted mean as well as median estimate are consistent with a Gaussian distribution, the Student’s $t$ and Cauchy distribution provide a better fit. This median statistic estimate of the neutron lifetime from these measurements is given by $881.5 \pm 0.47$ seconds. This can be used as an alternate estimate of the neutron lifetime. We also note that the discrepancy between beam and bottle-based measurements using median statistics of the neutron lifetime persists with a significance between 4 $\sigma$ and 8 $\sigma$, depending on which combination of measurements is used.
Highlights
The precise measurement and theoretical estimate of the neutron lifetime is of paramount importance for both particle physics and astrophysics [1, 2]
We find that the error distributions using the weighted mean as well as median estimate are consistent with a Gaussian distribution, the Student’s t and Cauchy distribution provide a better fit
If we define the significance as the number of standard deviations a Gaussian variable would fluctuate in one direction corresponding to this p value, the observed p-value corresponds to a 2σ [5] discrepancy for a constant value of the neutron lifetime
Summary
The precise measurement and theoretical estimate of the neutron lifetime is of paramount importance for both particle physics and astrophysics [1, 2]. Given the importance of the physics implications of these discrepancies in the neutron lifetime measurements, and to obtain a more robust estimate, which can be compared with the theoretical estimate, we revisit the issue of checking for non-Gaussianity of the errors and to obtain a more robust central estimate from the vetted measurements in PDG. The outline of this manuscript is as follows.
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