Prospects for precision measurements in nuclear decay in the LHC era

Abstract

Precision measurements in nuclear β decay offer a sensitive window to search for new physics beyond the standard electroweak model. Searches for new physics are also a strong motivation for experiments carried out at the high energy frontier. It is instructive to confront results from the low energy and the high energy frontiers in order to look for possible complementarities. This paper reviews the constraints on new physics obtained from nuclear and neutron decays and compares them to those from other semi‐leptonic processes and from the LHC. The sensitivity requirements of new precision experiments in β decay, to impact the search for new physics at the light of current and projected LHC results, are updated. Experimental developments in nuclear and neutron β decay are discussed with emphasis on their projected goals to improve the limits on exotic weak couplings.