Michel decay spectrum for a muon bound to a nucleus

Abstract

The spectrum of electrons from muons decaying in an atomic bound state is significantly modified by their interaction with the nucleus. Somewhat unexpectedly, its first measurement, at the Canadian laboratory TRIUMF, differed from basic theory. We show, using a combination of techniques developed in atomic, nuclear, and high-energy physics, that radiative corrections eliminate the discrepancy. In addition to solving that outstanding problem, our more precise predictions are potentially useful for interpreting future high-statistics muon experiments that aim to search for exotic interactions at $10^{-16}$ sensitivity.

arXiv comment6 pages, 4 figures, Alberta Thy 7-14 v2: Expanded discussion. Journal version

References in corpus (15)

• On the Motion of Heavy Quarks inside Hadrons: Universal Distributions and Inclusive Decays
• Analysis of the Photon Spectrum in Inclusive $B\to X_s\gamma$ Decays
• QCD-Based Interpretation of the Lepton Spectrum in Inclusive $\bar{B}\to X_u\ell \bar{\nu }$ Decays
• B -> X_u l nu decay distributions to order alpha_s
• Measurement of the Positive Muon Lifetime and Determination of the Fermi Constant to Part-per-Million Precision
• Subleading Shape Functions in Inclusive B Decays
• Resummation of Nonperturbative Corrections to the Lepton Spectrum in Inclusive $B\to X\ell \bar{\nu }$ Decays
• The electron energy spectrum in muon decay through O(alpha^2)
• Muon decay in orbit: spectrum of high-energy electrons
• Measurement of Muon Capture on the Proton to 1% Precision and Determination of the Pseudoscalar Coupling g_P
• Electroweak Radiative Corrections to Muon Capture
• State of the art in the determination of the fine structure constant: test of Quantum Electrodynamics and determination of h/mu
• Muonium Decay
• Decay of negative muons bound in ${}^{27}$Al
• Bounds on majoron emission from muon to electron conversion experiments

Cited by in corpus (16)

• COMET Phase-I Technical Design Report
• The Mu2e Experiment
• Michel Electron Reconstruction Using Cosmic-Ray Data from the MicroBooNE LArTPC
• High-energy electrons from the muon decay in orbit: radiative corrections
• ${\mathbf{\mu }}^{-}$- ${\mathbf{e}}^{+}$ conversion in upcoming LFV experiments
• Bound muon decay spectrum in the leading logarithmic accuracy
• Muon capture on light isotopes in Double Chooz
• Improved analysis for ${\mu }^{-}{e}^{-}\to e^{-}{e}^{-}$ in muonic atoms by photonic interaction
• Searching for new physics at $\mu \to e$ facilities with ${\mu }^{+}$ and ${\pi }^{+}$ decays at rest
• Michel parameters in the presence of massive Dirac and Majorana neutrinos
• First Detailed Calculation of Atmospheric Neutrino Foregrounds to the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background in Super-Kamiokande
• A theory vade mecum for PSI experiments
• Decay of a bound muon into a bound electron
• Shape function in QED and bound muon decays
• Determine Energy Nonlinearity and Resolution of $e^{\pm }$ and $\gamma$ in Liquid Scintillator Detectors by A Universal Energy Response Model
• Comprehensive table of calculated Huff factors