OBSERVATION OF RADIATIVE CAPTURE OF MUONS IN COPPER

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1963

OSTI ID:4685150

Chu, W T

The radiative capture of negative muons by a complex nucleus, mu /sup -/ + Nucleus yields Nucleus' + neutrino + photon, was observed for muons stopping in Cu. Events were identified visually using a spark chamber with copper plates to detect the stopping muons and a spark chamber with lead plates to detect the pair resulting from conversion of the associated photon. The energy of the photon was deduced from the pulse produced by the pair in a large Nal crystal. Counter pulses displayed on a fast oscilloscope gave information on the time distribution of events. For approximately 3 x 10/sup 8/ mu -stops, 100 good events were observed. Extraction of the branching ratio R of radiative capture to the ordinary capture depends upon detailed assumptions about the internal excitation of the final nucleus following the muon capture. However, the dependence is not very strong and the overall average branching ratio is R == (5.5 plus or minus 1.8))x 10/sup -4/. The result is larger than would be expected theoretically for a pure V--A coupling and is consistent with an estimate that includes an additional pseudoscalar interaction in the four Fermion coupling of muon and neutrino to proton and neutron. 39 references. (auth)

• Research Organization: Carnegie Inst. of Tech., Pittsburgh
• NSA Number: NSA-17-029574
• OSTI ID: 4685150
• Report Number(s): NYO-10562
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ABSORPTION
BRANCHING RATIO
CAPTURE
COPPER
DECAY
DISTRIBUTION
ENERGY
EXCITATION
FERMIONS
GAMMA RADIATION
INTERACTIONS
LEAD
MUONS
NEUTRINOS
NEUTRONS
OSCILLOGRAPHS
PHOTONS
PHYSICS
PLATES
PROTONS
PSEUDOSCALAR
PULSES
SCINTILLATION COUNTERS
SPARK CHAMBERS
V-A INTERACTIONS
VECTORS