Nuclear orientation following muon capture by spin zero nuclei

It is shown that in the proposed experimental set-up of the Louvain-Saclay collaboration, the nuclei recoiling into the forward (or backward) hemisphere in the reaction $\text{μ}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{+ A(J}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>i</mtext>}}\text{= 0) → B(J}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>f</mtext>}}\text{≧ 1) + ν}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}$ will not only be polarized but also aligned. A general expression for the alignment of the recoiling nucleus is derived in terms of the other observables and it is shown to be independent of nuclear structure and the dynamics of the muon capture interaction. Numerical results are presented for muon capture by ¹²C and ¹⁶O.