Sharpening low-energy, standard-model tests via correlation coefficients in neutron beta decay

The correlation coefficients a, A, and B in neutron decay are proportional to the ratio of the axial-vector-to-vector weak coupling constants, g(A)/g( V), to leading recoil order. With the advent of the next generation of neut ron-decay experiments, the recoil-order corrections to these expressions be come experimentally accessible, admitting a plurality of standard model (SM ) tests. The measurement of both a and ii, e.g., allows one to test the con served-vector-current (CVC) hypothesis and to search for second-class curre nts (SCC) independently. The anticipated precision of these measurements su ggests that the bounds on CVC violation and SCC from studies of nuclear bet a decay can be qualitatively bettered.