The diffusion of muonic deuterium atoms in deuterium gas

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:6095242

Kraiman, J B

Negative muons were brought to rest in a target array consisting of 30-50 parallel plastic foils coated with Au which were separated by a few mm. The interstitial volumes between the foils were filled with deuterium gas at pressures from 0.094 bar to 1.52 bar. Muons which stopped in the deuterium formed {mu}d atoms, which subsequently diffused through the gas until either the muon decayed or the {mu}d atom struck a foil surface. For {mu}d atoms impinging upon the Au layer, the muon would transfer to an Au atom, resulting in the formation of a {mu}Au atom in a highly excited state. De-excitation to the 1S ground state resulted in emission of characteristic muonic Au x rays, and after the muon was absorbed by the Au nucleus, the emission of Pt {gamma} rays. These transfer photons were detected by one of four germanium x-ray detectors adjacent to the target vessel. Analysis of the time distributions formed by collecting delayed transfer events for several sets of experimental conditions yielded information on the diffusion process of {mu}d atoms in deuterium gas.

• Research Organization: College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6095242
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640303* -- Atomic
Molecular & Chemical Physics-- Positronium
Muonium
& Muonic & Mesic Atoms & Molecules
656003 -- Condensed Matter Physics-- Interactions between Beams & Condensed Matter-- (1987-)
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ATOMS
BEAMS
COLLISIONS
DETECTION
DEUTERIUM
DIFFUSION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
GOLD 197 TARGET
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LEPTON BEAMS
LEPTONS
LIGHT NUCLEI
MEASURING METHODS
MUON BEAMS
MUONIC ATOMS
MUONS
MUONS MINUS
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PARTICLE BEAMS
RADIATION DETECTION
STABLE ISOTOPES
TARGETS
X-RAY DETECTION