Experimental test of Baryon conservation: A new limit on the nucleon lifetime

M. L. Cherry, University of Pennsylvania
M. Deakyne, University of Pennsylvania
K. Lande, University of Pennsylvania
C. K. Lee, University of Pennsylvania
R. I. Steinberg, University of Pennsylvania
B. Cleveland, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Abstract

The result of a search for nucleon decay using a 300-ton water Aerenkov detector located in the Homestake gold mine is reported. The nucleon total lifetime is found to be TN>3×1031B yr, where B is the model-dependent probability for production and detection of a decaying muon following a nucleon decay event. In the SU(5) grand unified model, published calculations of B vary from 5% to 10%, thereby yielding nucleon total lifetime limits in the range (1.5-3)×1030 yr. © 1981 The American Physical Society.