Measurement of the muon capture rate in hydrogen gas and determination of the proton's pseudoscalar coupling gP

Muonic atom spectroscopy with microgram target material

Muonic atom spectroscopy-the measurement of the x rays emitted during the formation process of a muonic atom-has a long standing history in probing the shape and size of nuclei. In fact, almost all stable elements have been subject to muonic atom spectroscopy measurements and the absolute charge radii extracted from these measurements typically offer the highest accuracy available. However, so far only targets of at least a few hundred milligram could be used as it required to stop a muon beam directly in the target to form the muonic atom. We have developed a new method relying on repeated transfer reactions taking place inside a 100 bar hydrogen gas cell with an admixture of 0.25% deuterium that allows us to drastically reduce the amount of target material needed while still offering an adequate efficiency. Detailed simulations of the transfer reactions match the measured data, suggesting good understanding of the processes taking place inside the gas mixture. As a proof of principle we demonstrate the method with a measurement of the 2p-1s muonic x rays from a 5  μ g gold target.

Nucleon axial radius and muonic hydrogen-a new analysis and review

Weak capture in muonic hydrogen (μH) as a probe of the chiral properties and nucleon structure predictions of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is reviewed. A recent determination of the axial-vector charge radius squared, [Formula: see text], from a model independent z expansion analysis of neutrino-nucleon scattering data is employed in conjunction with the MuCap measurement of the singlet muonic hydrogen capture rate, [Formula: see text], to update the induced pseudoscalar nucleon coupling [Formula: see text] derived from experiment, and [Formula: see text] predicted by chiral perturbation theory. Accounting for correlated errors this implies [Formula: see text], confirming theory at the 8% level. If instead, the predicted expression for [Formula: see text] is employed as input, then the capture rate alone determines [Formula: see text], or together with the independent z expansion neutrino scattering result, a weighted average [Formula: see text]. Sources of theoretical uncertainty are critically examined and potential experimental improvements are described that can reduce the capture rate error by about a factor of 3. Muonic hydrogen can thus provide a precise and independent [Formula: see text] value which may be compared with other determinations, such as ongoing lattice gauge theory calculations. The importance of an improved [Formula: see text] determination for phenomenology is illustrated by considering the impact on critical neutrino-nucleus cross sections at neutrino oscillation experiments.

Measurement of muon capture on the proton to 1% precision and determination of the pseudoscalar coupling gP

The MuCap experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute has measured the rate Λ(S) of muon capture from the singlet state of the muonic hydrogen atom to a precision of 1%. A muon beam was stopped in a time projection chamber filled with 10-bar, ultrapure hydrogen gas. Cylindrical wire chambers and a segmented scintillator barrel detected electrons from muon decay. Λ(S) is determined from the difference between the μ(-) disappearance rate in hydrogen and the free muon decay rate. The result is based on the analysis of 1.2 × 10(10) μ(-) decays, from which we extract the capture rate Λ(S) = (714.9 ± 5.4(stat) ± 5.1(syst)) s(-1) and derive the proton's pseudoscalar coupling g(P)(q(0)(2) = -0.88 m(μ)(2)) = 8.06 ± 0.55.

Chiral effective field theory predictions for muon capture on deuteron and {3}He

The muon-capture reactions {2}H(μ{-},ν{μ})nn and {3}He(μ{-},ν{μ}){3}H are studied with nuclear potentials and charge-changing weak currents, derived in chiral effective field theory. The low-energy constants (LECs) c{D} and c{E}, present in the three-nucleon potential and (c{D}) axial-vector current, are constrained to reproduce the A=3 binding energies and the triton Gamow-Teller matrix element. The muon-capture rates on deuteron and {3}He are predicted to be 399±3  sec{-1} and 1494±21  sec{-1}, respectively. The spread accounts for the cutoff sensitivity, as well as uncertainties in the LECs and electroweak radiative corrections. By comparing the calculated and precisely measured rates on {3}He, a value for the induced pseudoscalar form factor is obtained in good agreement with the chiral perturbation theory prediction.

Measurement of the positive muon lifetime and determination of the Fermi constant to part-per-million precision

We report a measurement of the positive muon lifetime to a precision of 1.0 ppm; it is the most precise particle lifetime ever measured. The experiment used a time-structured, low-energy muon beam and a segmented plastic scintillator array to record more than 2×10(12) decays. Two different stopping target configurations were employed in independent data-taking periods. The combined results give τ(μ(+)) (MuLan)=2 196 980.3(2.2)  ps, more than 15 times as precise as any previous experiment. The muon lifetime gives the most precise value for the Fermi constant: G(F) (MuLan)=1.166 378 8(7)×10(-5)  GeV(-2) (0.6 ppm). It is also used to extract the μ(-)p singlet capture rate, which determines the proton's weak induced pseudoscalar coupling g(P).

Line shape of the microH(3p-1s) hyperfine transitions

The (3p-1s) x-ray transition to the muonic hydrogen ground state was measured with a high-resolution crystal spectrometer. A Doppler effect broadening of the x-ray line was established which could be attributed to different Coulomb deexcitation steps preceding the measured transition. The assumption of a statistical population of the hyperfine levels of the muonic hydrogen ground state was directly confirmed by the experiment, and measured values for the hyperfine splitting can be reported. The results allow a decisive test of advanced cascade model calculations and establish a method to extract fundamental strong-interaction parameters from pionic hydrogen experiments.

Electroweak radiative corrections to muon capture

Electroweak radiative corrections to muon capture on nuclei are computed and found to be sizable. They enhance the capture rates for hydrogen and helium by 2.8% and 3.0%, respectively. As a result, the value of the induced pseudoscalar coupling, g(P)(exp), extracted from a recent hydrogen 1S singlet capture experiment is increased by about 21% to g(P)(exp)=7.3+/-1.2 and brought into good agreement with the prediction of chiral perturbation theory, g(P)(theory)=8.2+/-0.2. Implications for helium capture rate predictions are also discussed.

Improved measurement of the positive-muon lifetime and determination of the Fermi constant

The mean life of the positive muon has been measured to a precision of 11 ppm using a low-energy, pulsed muon beam stopped in a ferromagnetic target, which was surrounded by a scintillator detector array. The result, tau(micro)=2.197 013(24) micros, is in excellent agreement with the previous world average. The new world average tau(micro)=2.197 019(21) micros determines the Fermi constant G(F)=1.166 371(6)x10(-5) GeV-2 (5 ppm). Additionally, the precision measurement of the positive-muon lifetime is needed to determine the nucleon pseudoscalar coupling g(P).