Measurement of the Half-Life of the T = 1/2 Mirror Decay of super(19)Ne and its Implication on Physics Beyond the Standard Model

The 1/2 super(+) arrow right 1/2 super(+) superallowed mixed mirror decay of super(19)Ne to super(19)F is excellently suited for high precision studies of the weak interaction. However, there is some disagreement on the value of the half-life. In a new measurement we have determined this quantity to be T sub(1/2) = 17.2832 + or - 0.0051 sub((stat)) + or - 0.0066 sub((syst)) s, which differs from the previous world average by 3 standard deviations. The impact of this measurement on limits for physics beyond the standard model such as the presence of tensor currents is discussed.