Search for right-handed currents in muon decay

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6838252

Jodidio, A E

Limits are reported on charged right-handed currents, based on precise measurement of the endpoint e/sup +/ spectrum in ..mu../sup +/ decay. Highly polarized ..mu../sup +/ from the TRIUMF surface muon beam were stopped in high purity metal foils and liquid He targets selected to minimize depolarization effects. Decay e/sup +/ emitted within 160 mrad of the beam direction were momentum-analyzed to 0.15%. Muons were stopped within either a spin-precessing transverse field (70-G or 110-G) or a spin-holding longitudinal field (0.3T or 1.1-T). Data collected with the spin-precessing field were used for the momentum calibration of the spectrometer. The spin-held data were used to measure the relative e/sup +/ rate at the endpoint. For the model with manifest left-right symmetry and massless neutrinos the results implies 90% confidence limits m(WE/sub 2/) > 432 GeV/c/sup 2/ and -0.050 < delta < 0.035, where W/sub 2/ is the predominantly right-handed bosom and delta is the left-right mixing angle. With the assumption of no left-right mixing an equivalent 90% confidence upper limit of 0.025 is obtained on the absolute value of the ratio of a possible V + A amplitude to the dominant V - A amplitude in muon and pion decays. Limits are also deduced on the nu/sub ..mu..bL/ mass and helicity in ..pi../sup +/ decay, non-(V - A) couplings in helicity projection form, the mass scale of composite leptons, and the branching ratio for ..mu.. ..-->.. e + f where f (familon) is the neutral massless Nambu-Goldstone boson associated with flavor symmetry breaking.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6838252
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

645102* -- High Energy Physics-- Particle Interactions &amp; Properties-Experimental-- Weak Interactions &amp; Properties
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
ACCELERATORS
ALGEBRAIC CURRENTS
ANTILEPTONS
ANTIMATTER
ANTIPARTICLES
BASIC INTERACTIONS
BOSONS
CHARGED CURRENTS
CHARGED-PARTICLE REACTIONS
COMPOSITE MODELS
CURRENTS
CYCLIC ACCELERATORS
CYCLOTRONS
DATA
DECAY
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FERMIONS
FLAVOR MODEL
FOILS
HADRONS
HELICITY
HELIUM 3 TARGET
INFORMATION
INTERACTIONS
ISOCHRONOUS CYCLOTRONS
LEPTON REACTIONS
LEPTONIC DECAY
LEPTONS
MASS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MESONS
MUON NEUTRINOS
MUON REACTIONS
MUONS
MUONS PLUS
NEUTRINOS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUMERICAL DATA
PARTICLE DECAY
PARTICLE MODELS
PARTICLE PRODUCTION
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
PIONS
PIONS PLUS
POSITRONS
PSEUDOSCALAR MESONS
QUARK MODEL
REST MASS
SYMMETRY BREAKING
TARGETS
TRIUMF CYCLOTRON
WEAK CHARGED CURRENTS
WEAK INTERACTIONS
WEAK PARTICLE DECAY