Pion electronic decay and lepton universality

In common with a number of simple processes involving elementary particles, charged pion decays are profoundly shaped by applicable Standard Model (SM) symmetries and properties. Given the highly precise SM theoretical description, pion decays are used as selective probes of SM parameters, and of possible SM extensions. The PEN experiment at PSI is studying the \pi^+ \to e^+\nu_e(\gamma)π+→e+νe(γ), or \pi_{e2(\gamma)}πe2(γ) decay. The primary goal is to reach the relative precision of 5 \times 10^{-4}5×10−4 in R_{e/\mu}^\piRe/μπ, the branching ratio for \pi_{e2(\gamma)}πe2(γ) decay. We review the PEN research program, its present status, and prospects.

The muX project

The project is conducting a series of muonic X-ray measurements in medium- and high-Z nuclei at PSI, utilizing a high-purity germanium detector array, in-beam muon detectors, and a modern digital data-acquisition system. A novel hydrogen target for muon transfer was developed, enabling measurements with as little as a few micrograms of target material. First measurements with radioactive Cm and Ra targets were conducted, aimed at determining their nuclear charge radii. These serve as important input for upcoming atomic parity violation experiments. The apparatus is also used to perform a feasibility study of an atomic parity violation experiment with the 2s-1s2s−1s muonic X-ray transition. In addition, the setup has been made available for a wider range of nuclear, particle, and solid-state physics measurements.

A theory vade mecum for PSI experiments

This article gives a compact introduction and overview of the theory underlying the experiments described in the rest of this review.

Development of a cold atomic muonium beam for next generation atomic physics and gravity experiments

A high-intensity, low-emittance atomic muonium (M =\mu^+ + e^-=μ++e−) beam is being developed, which would enable improving the precision of M spectroscopy measurements, and may allow a direct observation of the M gravitational interaction. Measuring the free fall of M atoms would be the first test of the weak equivalence principle using elementary antimatter (\mu^+μ+) and a purely leptonic system. Such an experiment relies on the high intensity, continuous muon beams available at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, Switzerland), and a proposed novel M source. In this paper, the theoretical motivation and principles of this experiment are described.

MuSun - Muon Capture on the Deuteron

The MuSun experiment is a precision measurement of the rate for nuclear muon capture on the deuteron, designed to resolve a long-standing disagreement between experiment and theory, and to determine an important low-energy constant relevant for a variety of weak and strong dynamics. The experiment is based on a novel active target method employing a pure deuterium cryogenic time-projection chamber. The data taking was completed in two main campaigns and the analysis is well advanced. The unique challenges and corresponding strategy of the experiment as well as the status of the analysis are presented.

muCool: muon cooling for high-brightness μ+ beams

A number of experiments with muons are limited by the poor phase space quality of the muon beams currently available. The muCool project aims at developing a phase-space cooling method to transform a surface \mu^+μ+ beam with 4 MeV energy and 1 cm size into a slow muon beam with eV energy and 1 mm size. In this process the phase space is reduced by a factor of 10^{9}-10^{10}109−1010 with efficiencies of 2\cdot 10^{-5}-2\cdot 10^{-4}2⋅10−5−2⋅10−4. The beam is then re-accelerated to keV-MeV energies. Such a beam opens up new avenues for research in fundamental particle physics with muons and muonium atoms as well as in the field of \muμSR spectroscopy.

Cyclotron trap

The cyclotron trap was developed at SIN/PSI to increase the stopping density of negatively charged particle beams for the formation of exotic atoms in low pressure gases. A weak focusing magnetic field, produced by superconducting solenoids, is used. Particles are injected radially through the fringe field to a moderator, which decelerates them into orbits bound by the field. Further deceleration by moderators and/or low-pressure gases leads the particles to the centre of the device, where they can be stopped or eventually extracted. Experiments became feasible with this technique, such as those dealing with pionic hydrogen/deuterium at SIN/PSI. Muonic hydrogen laser experiments also became possible with the extraction of muons from the cyclotron trap. The formation of antiprotonic hydrogen in low pressure targets led to successful experiments at LEAR/CERN.

Measurement of the transverse polarization of electrons emitted in neutron decay – nTRV experiment

This paper recalls the main achievements of the nTRV experiment which measured two components of the transverse polarization (\sigma_{T_{1}}σT1, \sigma_{T_{2}}σT2) of electrons emitted in the \betaβ-decay of polarized, free neutrons and deduced two correlation coefficients, RR and NN, that are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. The value of time-reversal odd coefficient RR, 0.004\pm±0.012\pm±0.005, significantly improved limits on the relative strength of imaginary scalar coupling constant in the weak interaction. The value obtained for the time-reversal even correlation coefficient NN, 0.067\pm±0.011\pm±0.004, agrees with the Standard Model expectation, providing an important sensitivity test of the electron polarimeter. One of the conclusions of this pioneering experiment was that the transverse electron polarization in the neutron \betaβ-decay is worth more systematic exploring by measurements of yet experimentally not attempted correlation coefficients such as HH, LL, SS, UU and VV. This article presents a brief outlook on that questions.

Pionic hydrogen and deuterium

The measurement of strong-interaction shift and broadening in pionic hydrogen and deuterium yields pion-nucleon scattering lengths as well as the threshold pion-production strength on isoscalar NN pairs. Results from recent high-resolution experiments at PSI using crystal spectrometers allow important comparisons with the outcome of the modern low-energy description of QCD within the framework of effective field theories.

Muonium-Antimuonium Conversion

The MACS experiment performed at PSI in the 1990s provided an yet unchallenged upper bound on the probability for a spontaneous conversion of the muonium atom, { M=}({\mu^+e^-})M=(μ+e−), into its antiatom, antimuonium {\overline{{M}} = }({\mu^-e^+})M¯=(μ−e+). It comprises the culmination of a series of measurements at various accelerator laboratories worldwide. The experimental limits on the process have provided input and steering for the further development of a variety of theoretical models beyond the standard theory, in particular for models which address lepton number violating processes and matter-antimatter oscillations. Several models beyond the standard theory could be strongly disfavored. There is interest in a new measurement and improved sensitivity could be reached by exploiting the time evolution of the conversion process, e.g., at intense pulsed muonium sources.