Superallowed nuclear beta decays and precision tests of the Standard Model

Abstract

For many decades, the main source of information on the top-left corner element of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark mixing matrix $V_{ud}$ were superallowed nuclear beta decays with an impressive 0.01\% precision. This precision, apart from experimental data, relies on theoretical calculations in which nuclear structure-dependent effects and uncertainties play a prime role. This review is dedicated to a thorough reassessment of all ingredients that enter the extraction of the value of $V_{ud}$ from experimental data. We tried to keep balance between historical retrospect and new developments, many of which occurred in just five past years. They have not yet been reviewed in a complete manner, not least because new results are a-coming. This review aims at filling this gap and offers an in-depth yet accessible summary of all recent developments.