Quasielastic scattering in the interaction of ultracold neutrons with a liquid wall and application in a reanalysis of the Mambo I neutron-lifetime experiment

We develop a theory of ultracold and very cold neutron scattering on viscoelastic surface waves up to second-order perturbation theory. The results are applied to reanalyze the 1989 neutron-lifetime experiment using ultracold neutron storage in a Fomblin-coated vessel by Mampe et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 593 (1989)]. Inclusion of this theory of the quasielastic scattering process in the data analysis shifts the neutron lifetime value from 887.6 +/- 3 to 882.5 +/- 2.1 s.