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Improved Measurement of the Positive-Muon Lifetime and Determination of the Fermi Constant

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]; ; ;  [2]; ;  [3];  [4]
  1. Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
  3. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2A3 (Canada)
  4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506 (United States)
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}{sub {mu}}=2.197 013(24) {mu}s, is in excellent agreement with the previous world average. The new world average {tau}{sub {mu}}=2.197 019(21) {mu}s determines the Fermi constant G{sub F}=1.166 371(6)x10{sup -5} GeV{sup -2} (5 ppm). Additionally, the precision measurement of the positive-muon lifetime is needed to determine the nucleon pseudoscalar coupling g{sub P}.
OSTI ID:
20957895
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 99; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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