Search for Right-handed Currents by Means of Muon Spin Rotation

Search for Right-handed Currents by Means of Muon Spin Rotation
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Release: 1985
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A muon spin rotation (.mu. SR) technique has been used to place limits on right-handed weak currents in .mu. decay. A beam of almost 100% polarized 'surface' muons obtained from the TRIUMF M13 beamline was stopped in essentially non-depolarizing>99.99% pure metal foils. The .mu. spins were precessed by 70-G or 110-G transverse fields. Decay e+ emitted within 225 mrad of the beam direction and with momenta above 46 MeV/c were momentum-analyzed to 0.2%. Comparison of the .mu. SR signal amplitude with that expected for (V-A) decay yields an endpoint asymmetry xiP.mu.delta/rho>0.9951 with 90% confidence. In the context of manifest left-right symmetric models with massless neutrinos the results imply the 90% confidence limits M(W2)>381 GeV/c2 and -0.057

Search for Right-handed Currents in Muon Decay

Search for Right-handed Currents in Muon Decay
Author:
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Total Pages:
Release: 1983
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ISBN:

We report new limits on right-handed currents, based on precise measurement of the endpoint of the e spectrum from .mu. decay. Highly polarized .mu. from the TRIUMF surface beam were stopped in pure metal foils within either an 1.1-T spin-holding longitudinal field, or a 70-gauss spin-precessing transverse field. Decay e+ emitted within 200 mrad of the beam direction were momentum-analyzed to +-0.2%. For the spin-held data, decay via (V-A) currents requires the e+ rate to approach zero in the beam direction at the endpoint. Measurement of this rate sets the 90% confidence limits xi P/sub .mu.[delta]rho> 0.9959 and M(W/sub R/)> 380 GeV, where W/sub R/ is the possible right-handed gauge boson. For the spin-precessed data we independently determine a 90% confidence limit xi P/sub .mu./delta/rho> 0.9918. 18 references.