New experimental limits on the probabilities of pauli-forbidden transitions in the 12C nucleus from data obtained with the borexino detector

Abstract

The Pauli exclusion principle was tested for nucleons in the 12C nucleus by using data from the Borexino detector. The approach used consisted in seeking photons, neutrons, and protons, as well as electrons and positrons, emitted in the Pauli-forbidden transitions of nucleons from the 1P 3/2 shell to the filled 1S 1/2 shell. Owing to a uniquely low background level in the Borexino detector and its large mass, the currently most stringent experimental limits were obtained for the probabilities and relative intensities of Pauli-forbidden transitions for the electromagnetic, strong, and weak channels.