Present status of the investigation on muon transfer in gaseous mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen

To investigate the energy dependence of muon transfer to oxygen, we performed measurements in gaseous mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen. The time distributions of the muonic oxygen X-rays showed the same structure as the one observed earlier in H₂+SO₂ mixtures. In the delayed part of these distributions, one can distinguish a short-time and a long-time component. From the latter, we deduced the transfer rates from thermalized muonic protium, respectively deuterium, to oxygen. The short-time component can be interpreted as being due to muon transfer from epithermal muonic hydrogen atoms. The time parameters are characteristic for the deceleration process as well as for energy-dependent transfer rates. With results of recent research on the formation and the thermalization of muonic hydrogen, we performed Monte Carlo simulations in order to test the hypothesis of an energy-dependent transfer rate.     

Dynamics of muonic atom cascade in hydrogen-helium mixtures

The deexcitation of excited muonic protium and deuterium in the mixture of hydrogen and helium isotopes is considered. Methods of experimental determination of the probability of direct atomic muon capture by hydrogen and muon transfer rates from excited muonic hydrogen to helium are proposed. Theoretical results for the population of the muonic atoms in the ground state, , are compared with the existing experimental data. Results obtained for mixtures are of interest for investigation of nuclear fusion in muonic molecules. Received: 6 August 1998 / Revised: 1st October 1998 / Accepted: 2 October 1998     

First measurement of the temperature dependence of muon transfer rate from muonic hydrogen atoms to oxygen

We report the first measurement of the temperature dependence of muon transfer rate from muonic hydrogen atoms to oxygen between 100 and 300 K. Data were obtained from the X-ray spectra of delayed events in a gaseous target, made of a H₂/O₂ mixture, exposed to a muon beam. This work sets constraints on theoretical models of muon transfer and is of fundamental importance for the measurement of the hyperfine splitting of muonic hydrogen ground state as proposed by the FAMU collaboration.     

Proposal for X-ray spectroscopy of muonic atoms formed from implanted ions in solid hydrogen films

A new method is proposed to extend muonic atom X-ray spectroscopy to the study of nuclear beams, including radioactive beams, by stopping both muon and nuclear beams in a solid hydrogen film. The muon transfer reaction to higher Z nuclei is used then to form muonic atoms. This method would allow studies of the nuclear charge distribution of unstable atoms. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High-velocity components in exotic atoms,their origin and effects

The evolution of the kinetic energy distribution during the cascade is shown to play an important role for pionic and muonic atoms in hydrogen and deuterium. The kinetics of muon transfer in excited states is studied with a new cascade code and the results are compared with recent experimental data.     

Formation of exotic atoms by direct capture and via transfer from hydrogen

Exotic atoms like muonic atoms can be formed either by direct capture, often called Coulomb capture, or by muon transfer from a muonic hydrogen atom. The first estimates for the formation predicted, for both mechanisms, probabilities approximately proportional to the charge numberZ. The experiments did not confirm such a simpleZ-dependence. In direct capture, it turned out that the chemical bond played a decisive role, at least for lighter elements. In the formation via transfer, surprising data were obtained not only for heteroatomic molecules but also for noble gases. Whereas for direct capture, a model is able to reproduce quite satisfactorily a great number of measured capture ratios, including those in hydrogen compounds, the formation via transfer seems to put completely different and more fundamental questions.     

Muonic atoms and muon-catalyzed fusion in inhomogeneous mixtures of hydrogen isotopes

The emission of µd and µt atoms from multilayer solid targets consisting of the mixtures of hydrogen isotopes has been investigated with a kinetics model. The methods to study the elastic scattering of muonic atoms, muon transfer, and molecular formation reactions with µ-atomic beams are discussed.     

On the Use of a H2–O2 Gas Target in Muonic Hydrogen Atom Hyperfine Splitting Experiments

We propose a substantial improvement of the experimental method for the measurement of the hyperfine splitting of the ground state of muonic hydrogen described in earlier papers [1,2]. By further developing the idea to use the diffusion of the muon hydrogen atoms as a signature of laser-induced hyperfine transitions, we suggest a technique based on the energy dependence of the rate of muon transfer to oxygen in the thermal region, and demonstrate its efficiency and significant practical advantages. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Temperature dependence of the formation rates of hydrogen-helium mesic molecules in collisions of slow hydrogen atoms with helium

The rates of molecular muon transfer from the ground-state muonic hydrogen to helium isotopes are calculated in an improved adiabatic approximation. The results obtained by us at various temperatures are compared with the available experimental data.     

Transfer of negative muons from hydrogen to oxygen

Negative muons were trapped in gaseous mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen. The time distributions of the muonic oxygen X-rays showed a clear deviation from a single exponential structure. From these time distributions we evaluated the transfer rate from thermalized muonic hydrogen atoms to oxygen. In order to test the hypothesis of an energy-dependent transfer rate to oxygen we performed Monte Carlo simulations of the thermalization and the transfer process. We report on the present status of our investigations.     

Muon molecular formation and transfer rate in solid hydrogen-deuterium mixtures

In an experiment at TRIUMF to study muon-catalyzed fusion and associated atomic and molecular effects, negative muons were stopped in a solid protium hydrogen layer containing a small amount of deuterium. Most of the resulting µp atoms disappeared by formation of ppµ molecules or by muon transfer to a deuteron. The µd can drift almost freely through the hydrogen layer due to the Ramsauer-Townsend effect and may even leave the layer. If a thin neon layer is frozen atop the hydrogen, the exiting muonic atoms will very rapidly release their muon to a neon atom. The analysis of the time structure of the neon X-rays is used to determine the rates of the slower processes involved in the evolution of the µp. This analysis has been performed with the help of Monte Carlo calculations, which simulate the kinetics of both µp and µd atoms in the hydrogen mixtures.     

Experiments with energetic μd and μt emitted from solid hydrogen

A set of experiments is reviewed which makes use of the emission of muonic deuterium from the surface of a layer of solid hydrogen. The behaviour of muons in a solid target system has been studied via detection of muon decay electrons, muonic X-rays, and fusion products (neutrons and charged particles). The emission of muonic deuterium is understood to result from the Ramsauer-Townsend scattering minimum. The energy distribution of the emitted atoms ranges from tenths of eV to about 10 eV, and can be controlled to some extent. A proposal is described to use muonic tritium emission to measure the energy dependence of muonic molecular formation.     

Time-of-flight measurement of resonant molecular formation in muon-catalyzed dt fusion

Preliminary results are reported for an experiment at TRIUMF where a time-of-flight technique was tested for measuring the energy dependence of the rate for muon-catalyzed dt fusion. Muonic tritium atoms were created following transfer of negative muons from muonic protium in a layer of solid hydrogen (protium) containing a small fraction of tritium. The atoms escaped from the solid layer via the Ramsauer-Townsend mechanism, traversed a drift region of 18 mm, and then struck an adjacent layer of deuterium, where the muonic atom could form a molecular system. The time of detection of a fusion product (neutron or alpha) following muon arrival is dependent upon the energy of the muonic tritium atom as it traverses the drift region. By comparison of the time distribution of fusion events with a prediction based on the theoretical energy dependence of the rate, the strength of resonant formation can in principle be determined. The results extracted so far are discussed and the limitations of the method are examined.     

Mössbauer study of Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio in amphiboles to search correlation with hydrogen isotope fractionation

New intense muon beams with flux several orders of magnitude higher than at present muon facilities would allow many novel experimental studies that were until now statistically not feasible. The investigation of the nuclear properties of short-lived nuclei using muonic atom spectroscopy would become possible. A feasibility study at RIKEN-RAL muon facility using the cold hydrogen film method to produce radioactive muonic atoms is in progress. A new surface ionization type ion source was recently installed to expand the variety of available ions. Encouraging experimental results were obtained with stable alkaline-earth and rare-earth isotope ions implanted in solid deuterium films. The latest results are reported in this paper.     

Cascade Processes in Muonic Hydrogen Atoms

The QCMC scheme created earlier for cascade calculations in heavy hadronic atoms of hydrogen isotopes has been modified and applied to the study of cascade processes in the μp muonic hydrogen atoms. The distribution of μp atoms over kinetic energies has been obtained and the yields of K-series X-rays per one stopped muon have been calculated. Comparison with experimental data indicated directly that for muonic and pionic atoms new types of non-radiative transitions are essential, while they are negligible for heavy (kaonic, antiprotonic, etc.) atoms. These processes have been considered and their probabilities have been estimated. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen—II. Analysis of the discrepancy of theory and experiment

Currently, both the g factor measurement of the muon as well as the Lamb shift 2S–2P measurement in muonic hydrogen are in disagreement with theory. Here, we investigate possible theoretical explanations, including proton structure effects and small modifications of the vacuum polarization potential. In particular, we investigate a conceivable small modification of the spectral function of vacuum polarization in between the electron and muon energy scales due to a virtual millicharged particle and due to an unstable vector boson originating from a hidden sector of an extended standard model. We find that a virtual millicharged particle which could explain the muonic Lamb shift discrepancy alters theoretical predictions for the muon anomalous magnetic moment by many standard deviations and therefore is in conflict with experiment. Also, we find no parameterizations of an unstable virtual vector boson which could simultaneously explain both “muonic” discrepancies without significantly altering theoretical predictions for electronic hydrogen, where theory and experiment currently are in excellent agreement. A process-dependent correction involving electron screening is evaluated to have the right sign and order-of-magnitude to explain the observed effect in muonic hydrogen. Additional experimental evidence from light muonic atoms and ions is needed in order to reach further clarification.     

Emission of muonic tritium into vacuum: An atomic beam for muon experiments

The emission of muonic tritium atoms from a thin film of hydrogen isotopes into vacuum was observed. The time and position of the muon decays were measured by tracking the decay electron trajectory. The observations are useful both for testing the theoretical cross sections for muonic atomic interactions, and producing an atomic beam of slow μ^-t with a controllable energy. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Charge exchange and Coulomb de-excitation of muonic atoms in low energy collisions

The muon transfer and Coulomb de-excitation rates at the collisions of (pμ) _n , (dμ) _n and (tμ) _n muonic atoms in excited states n = 3, 4, 5 with hydrogen isotopes p, d, t are calculated for all possible combinations of hydrogen isotopes. The advanced adiabatic approach (AAA) [1–3] is adapted and used to the specific case of muonic atom collisions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Challenge towards muonic atom formation with unstable nuclei

X-ray spectroscopy of muonic atoms is an important tool to obtain information on the nuclear charge distribution of nuclei. It has been successfully used for many years to study stable isotopes in condensed or gaseous states. A new method has been proposed to extend muonic atom X-ray spectroscopy to the use of radioactive isotope beams to form muonic atoms with unstable nuclei. This new method allows studies of the nuclear properties and nuclear sizes of unstable atoms by means of the muonic X-ray method at facilities where both negative muon and radioactive nuclear beams would be available. Progress of a feasibility study at RIKEN-RAL muon facility is also reported. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Development Towards Muonic Atom Formation with Unstable Nuclei

We report on the latest development of a new method for extending muonic atom X-ray spectroscopy to the use of radioactive isotope beams to form muonic atoms with unstable nuclei. This would allow studies of the nuclear properties and nuclear sizes of unstable atoms by means of the muonic X-ray method at facilities where both negative muon and radioactive nuclear beams would be available. Progress of a feasibility study at RIKEN-RAL muon facility is also reported. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.