Constraints on nucleon decay via invisible modes from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory.

Data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory have been used to constrain the lifetime for nucleon decay to "invisible" modes, such as n-->3nu. The analysis was based on a search for gamma rays from the deexcitation of the residual nucleus that would result from the disappearance of either a proton or neutron from 16O. A limit of tau(inv)>2 x 10(29) yr is obtained at 90% confidence for either neutron- or proton-decay modes. This is about an order of magnitude more stringent than previous constraints on invisible proton-decay modes and 400 times more stringent than similar neutron modes.