Measurement of the Λ→p μ− ¯v branching ratio

A sample of 1.2× 10⁶ Λ-hyperons was analyzed in order to detect the rare decay mode: Λ →pμ^?¯v. The Λ-hyperons were produced by stoppingK ^?-mesons in the 81 cm Saclay hydrogen bubble chamber at the CERN PS. We obtained for the branching ratio: $$\frac{{\Gamma {\text{(}}\Lambda \to p\mu ^ - \bar \nu )}}{{\Gamma {\text{(}}\Lambda \to {\text{all)}}}} = (1.4 \pm 0.5) \times 10^{ - 4} ,$$ based on 20 events, of which 6 have to be attributed to the background from the reaction $$\Lambda \to p\pi ^ - , \pi ^ - \to \mu ^ - \bar v.$$ The background was determined by a Monte Carlo calculation.