The Observation of DE-excitation Photons Used to Determine Nucleon Emission after Muon Capture on Aluminum, Titanium and Lead

Abstract

The Mu2e experiment is a search for a neutrino-less conversion of a muon into an electron resulting in charged lepton flavour violation (CLFV) on Aluminum. The experiment will have a single-event sensitivity of (5.4 x 10^17) which is an improvement of four orders of magnitude beyond the current limit set by the SINDRUM II collaboration. In order to achieve this sensitivity a thorough understanding of the background rates and a precise measurement of the number of muons captured on the target is required. Therefore, the AlCap experiment proposed to study particle emission after muon capture on Aluminum, Titanium, Lead in addition to several other targets. This dissertation focuses on photon measurement after muon capture on Al, Ti, and Pb. It obtains precise measurements of the atomic muonic lifetime and the number of muons captured in a muon beam incident on the respective targets. The latter was obtained from observation of muonic X-rays. In addition, several Z-1 isotopes were observed by observing de-excitation photons from the residual nuclei which indicate the emission of one or more neutrons. The emission rates of both prompt and delayed neutrons are measured.