SEARCH FOR $mu$ $Yields$ e + e + e
A search was made for the neutrinoless decay mode mu yields e + e + e. Positive pions from the Berkeley 184-in. synchrocyclotron were stopped in a lithium target. The detection of three decay particles not in coincidence with an incoming pion served to trigger two thin-plate spark chambers viewing the decays. The energy of the decay particles was measured with a combination of Naaicounters and range telescopes. The spark chamber pictures were first scanned for events with three tracks meeting at a common point in the target. A requirement that no angle between any of the three tracks could be greater than 160 deg eliminated essentially all of the raain source of background, namely, knock-on collisions of electrons passing through the target. Further requirements for the three tracks to be coplanar and for each particle to have at least 16 Mev eliminated all but one ambiguous event. For this event insufficient energy information was available. If we assume that one eventto be mu yields e + e + e, and with a calculated detection efficiency of 0.0083, an upper limit for the branching ratio for this mode can be set at 1.5 x 10/sup -7/ with a 90% confidence level. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
- NSA Number:
- NSA-17-017026
- OSTI ID:
- 4722528
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review (U.S.) Superseded in part by Phys. Rev. A, Phys. Rev. B: Solid State, Phys. Rev. C, and Phys. Rev. D, Journal Name: Physical Review (U.S.) Superseded in part by Phys. Rev. A, Phys. Rev. B: Solid State, Phys. Rev. C, and Phys. Rev. D Vol. Vol: 130; ISSN PHRVA
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
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