Muon g-2 discrepancy： new physics or a relatively light Higgs？

After a brief review of the muon g-2 status, we discuss hypothetical errors in the Standard Model prediction that might explain the present discrepancy with the experimental value. None of them seems likely. In particular, a hypothetical increase of the hadroproduction cross section in low-energy e^＋e^- collisions could bridge the muon g-2 discrepancy, but it is shown to be unlikely in view of current experimental error estimates. If, nonetheless, this turns out to be the explanation of the discrepancy, then the 95% CL upper bound on the Higgs boson mass is reduced to about 135 GeV which, in conjunction with the experimental 114.4 GeV 95% CL lower bound, leaves a narrow window for the mass of this fundamental particle.     

Status of the Fermilab muon(g-2)experiment

The New Muon(g-2)Collaboration at Fermilab has proposed to measure the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon,aμ,a factor of four better than was done in E821 at the Brookhaven AGS,which obtained aμ =[116592089(63)]×10-11±0.54 ppm.The last digit of aμ is changed from the published value owing to a new value of the ratio of the muon-to-proton magnetic moment that has become available.At present there appears to be a difference between the Standard-Model value and the measured value,at the(≈)3 standard deviation level when electron-positron annihilation data are used to determine the lowest-order hadronic piece of the Standard Model contribution.The improved experiment,along with further advances in the determination of the hadronic contribution,should clarify this difference.Because of its ability to constrain the interpretation of discoveries made at the LHC,the improved measurement will be of significant value,whatever discoveries may come from the LHC.     

Review of the μCF Theory after EXAT-98

A review of the Muon Catalyzed Fusion theory after the International Symposium EXAT-98 is presented. The main results obtained are discussed. Special attention is paid to the unsolved problems of the μCF phenomenon and its applications. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Beta decay of the proton-rich nuclei 102Sn and 104Sn

The β decays of ¹⁰²Sn and ¹⁰⁴Sn were studied by using high-resolution germanium detectors as well as a Total Absorption Spectrometer (TAS). For ¹⁰⁴Sn, with three new β-delayed γ-rays identified, the total Gamow-Teller strength (B_GT) value of 2.7(3) was obtained. For ¹⁰²Sn, the γ-γ coincidence data were collected for the first time, allowing us to considerably extend the decay scheme. This scheme was used to unfold the TAS data and to deduce a B_GT value of 4.2(8) for this decay. This result is compared to shell model predictions, yielding a hindrance factor of 3.6(7) in agreement with those obtained previously for ⁹⁸Cd and ¹⁰⁰In. Together with the latter two, ¹⁰²Sn completes the triplet of Z ⩽ 50, N ≥ 50 nuclei with two proton holes, one proton hole and one neutron particle, and two neutron particles with respect to the doubly magic ¹⁰⁰Sn core.     

A cryogenic target to study charge nonsymmetric muonic molecules

An experimental setup, including a cryogenic gas target with temperature control and gas filling systems, has been developed to study muon catalyzed fusion in gas mixtures of hydrogen and helium isotopes. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

宇宙线大气簇射μ子定点密度及原初能谱“膝”的研究

用梁王山宇宙线观测站的数据研究宇宙线大气簇射μ子定点密度谱,谱呈现明显的拐折.通过MonteCarlo模拟,得到拐点对应的能量约为1.7×10¹⁵eV,拐点前后原初能谱指数差约为0.43,证实了KASCADE实验μ子定点密度谱呈现拐折的首次观测结果,又一次推证了原初宇宙线能谱膝的存在.     

Comparative Theoretical Study of Hyperfine Interactions of Muonium in A- and B-Form DNA

Muon Spin Relaxation (μSR) experiments in A- and B-form DNA have shown evidence for an enhanced electron mobility in the more closely-packed A-form. Besides dynamic effects (electronic diffusion) that could cause the observed difference in muon spin relaxation, one should also carefully examine the difference in the strengths of the hyperfine interactions of the muon (μ ⁺) with the moving electron in the two forms of DNA, since this could contribute to the observed difference in the muon spin relaxation rates as well. We have therefore investigated the (static) trapping properties of muon and muonium (μ ⁺ e ⁻) in A-form and B-form DNA from first-principles with the aim to understand how the different structural geometries of A- and B-form DNA can influence the hyperfine interaction of trapped muonium.     

Free Radical Chemistry of Phosphasilenes

Understanding the characteristics of radicals formed from silicon‐containing heavy analogues of alkenes is of great importance for their application in radical polymerization. Steric and electronic substituent effects in compounds such as phosphasilenes not only stabilize the Si=P double bond, but also influence the structure and species of the formed radicals. Herein we report our first investigations of radicals derived from phosphasilenes with Mes, Tip, Dur, and NMe₂ substituents on the P atom, using muon spin spectroscopy and DFT calculations. Adding muonium (a light isotope of hydrogen) to phosphasilenes reveals that: a) the electron‐donor NMe₂ and the bulkiest Tip‐substituted phosphasilenes form several muoniated radicals with different rotamer conformations; b) bulky Dur‐substituted phosphasilene forms two radicals (Si‐ and P‐centred); and c) Mes‐substituted phosphasilene mainly forms one species of radical, at the P centre. These significant differences result from intramolecular substituent effects.     

A fast muon trigger for the PHENIX forward spectrometer upgrade

The PHENIX forward upgrade adds nosecone calorimeters and level-1 trigger (LVL-1) detectors to the muon forward spectrometers. The muon detector will trigger on high pT muons from W decay and reject background. This will enable study of quark and anti-quark polarizations in the proton. The upgrade will add momentum and timing information to the present muon trigger. Signals from 3 Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) will provide momentum and timing information for the LVL-1 trigger. Each RPC carries a plane with coarse structure to establish a space point for timing and one with radial cathode strips for azimuthal resolution. Timing resolution of ≈ 2 ns rejects beam-related backgrounds and tracking from RPCs minimizes muons from hadron decays. RPC information is sent by optical. bers to LVL-1 trigger processors. A discussion of physics measurements possible, layout of the upgrade and details of RPC design and tests are given below. for the PHENIX collaboration Presented in the Poster Session “Future Experiments and Facilities” at the 18th International Conference “Quark Matter 2005”, Budapest, Hungary, 4–9 August 2005.