The search for proton decay

The conservation of the quantum number called baryon number, like lepton (or family) number, is an empirical fact even though there are very good reasons to expect otherwise. Experimentalists have been searching for baryon number violating decays of the proton and neutron for decades now without success. Theorists have evolved deep understanding of the relationship between the natural forces in the development of various Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) that nearly universally predict baryon number violating proton decay, or related phenomena like n-{bar n} oscillations. With this in mind, the Proton Decay Working Group reviewed the current experimental and theoretical status of the search for baryon number violation with an eye to the advancement in the next decade.