Lifetime and population of the 2S state in muonic protium and deuterium

Abstract

Radiative deexcitation (RD) of the metastable 2S state of muonic protium and deuterium atoms has been observed. In muonic protium, we improve the precision on lifetime and population (formation probability) values for the short-lived μp(2S) component, and give an upper limit for RD of long-lived μp(2S) atoms. In muonic deuterium at 1 hPa, 3.1 +-0.3 % of all stopped muons form μd(2S) atoms. The short-lived 2S component has a population of 1.35 +0.57 -0.33 % and a lifetime of τ_short(μd) = 138 +32 -34 ns. We see evidence for RD of long-lived μd(2S) with a lifetime of τ_long(μd) = 1.15 +0.75 -0.53 μs. This is interpreted as formation and decay of excited muonic molecules.

5 pages, 2 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Observation of Long-Lived Muonic Hydrogen in the 2S State

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Hadronic shift in pionic hydrogen
• Improved X-ray detection and particle identification with avalanche photodiodes
• The isotopic effects in the scattering and the kinetics of the atomic cascade
• Line shape analysis of the K$\beta$ transition in muonic hydrogen
• Collision-induced radiative quenching and other disintegration modes of the $2S$ state of muonic hydrogen and deuterium atoms
• Radiative decay of muonic molecules in resonance states