W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1995 Search for metastability of 2S muonic neon Bernard Wilhelm Bach College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons Recommended Citation Bach, Bernard Wilhelm, "Search for metastability of 2S muonic neon" (1995). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623869. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-wd84-pb96 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMT films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The qnaUty of this reproduction Is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 SEARCH FOR METASTABILITY OF 2S MUONIC NEON A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Physics The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Bernhard Wilhelm Bach 1995 UMI Number: 9605785 UMI Microform 9605785 Copyright 1995, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Bernhard Wilhelm Bach Approved, June 19& Robert T. Siege! Morton Eckhause William Kossler Marc Sher Abbott Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility Newport News, Virginia ii DEDICATION To my parents Bernhard and JoHanna, for being both mentors and friends, and for their unfailing support and encouragement of all my en d eav o rs. To Renee Sentilles for all her love and support, I wouldn’t have made it without her help. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES...........................................................................................................x ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................xii Page CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTON................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2. THEORY..................................................................................................4 A. Mesic Atom Formation ........................................................4 B. The Cascade...........................................................................5 C. The Muonic 2S-State ........................................................... 8 D. Population Of The 2S-State ...........................................13 E. Two Photon Transitions ................................................... 15 CHAPTER 3. DISCRETION OF THE EXPERIMENT............................................ 20 A. The Facilities........................................................................20 B. The Trap............................................................................... 21 C. The Cyclotron Field ........................................................... 24 D. The Vaccum System..........................................................27 E. Detectors .............................................................................. 28 F. Trap Tuning .......................................................................... 29 G. Electronics Logic and Data Acquisition .................30 CHAPTER. 4 DATA ANALYSIS................................................................................36 A. Software ................................................................................ 36 B. Calibration ............................................................................ 38 C. Detector Efficiency .............................................................41 D. Time Slew Correction ....................................................... 43 E. Analysis Of Single Photon Events (40 Torr) ......... 46 F. Analysis Of Two Photon Events (40 Torr) ...............55 G.Time Cuts Of Two Photon Events (400 Torr) .......56 H. Background .......................................................................... 57 I. Energy Cuts On The E VS E Scatter Plot .................58 J. Analysis Of Two Photon Events (400 Torr) .........60 K. Predicted Fraction Of Two Photon Decays .......... 68 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION...................................................................................... 73 APPENDIX......................................................................................................................74 REFERENCES...............................................................................................................81 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the many people who have contributed to the completion of this dissertation: Dr. Robert Siegel, my advisor, for his time and help, and for teaching me important lessons along the way. Dr. Leopold Simons, for the support he gave while I was in Switzerland, and his knowledge of muon physics. Dr. David Abbott, for mentoring me on experimental techniques. Dr. John Missimer, for his help, insight and great conversation. Dr. Franz Kottmann, for being the pleasant person that he is, and his ability to quickly divine the source of an unexpected problem. Dr. Peter Hauser, for all the time he spent on night shift, his great attitude, and his beer. Dr. Dezso Horvath, for his hard work, sense of humor, and peace keeping. Dr. David Viel, for computer help and his general support. Dr. Morton Eckhause, for reading the manuscript and for the kindness he has shown me during my stay at William and Mary. Those bottle hugging fools and coaches in the corner: H.M.S. Marco Brown, Dr. Raju Subram anian, Dr. A lastair Neil, Col. Charles Martin and the Rev. Mike Walker. Hildy Coleman, for being my dance partner over the last four years, and Matt Coffey for being my climbing partner. Without their help physical expression would have been nearly impossible in Williamsburg and I would have certainly shriveled down to the size of a Dean or Department Chairman. vi Sergei Ananyan, who continually challenged me to keep my sense of humor. Thomas “same page” Estes, for being himself. Paula Perry, Sylvia Stout and Dianne Fannin, for all their help and laughter. LIST OF TABLES TABLE _Eage 2-1 Transition Rates For The 2S and 2P States ........................................ 12 In Muonic Neon 2-2 Lyman and Balmer Series Branching Ratios ......................................... 14 2-3 Two Photon Transition Rates For Muonic Neon ..................................17 4-1 Experimental Conditions ...............................................................................38 4-2 Peak Positions In Channels (P&S Detector) .........................................39 4-3 Peak Positions In Channels (W&M Detector)..... ................................. 4 0 4-4 Final Calibration ............................................................................................... 40 4-5 Fit To Detector Efficiency ............................................................................ 43 4-6 Fit To Slew Correction ................................................................................... 44 4-7 Single Events Muonic Neon X rays 40 Torr (P&S Detector)....48 4-8 Other Lines (P&S Detector) .........................................................................53 4-9 Single Events Muonic Neon X rays 40 Torr (W&MDetector)....51 4-10 Other Lines (W&M Detector)....................................................................... 52 4-11 Relative Intensities Of The Lyman Series Of Muonic Neon....54 4-12 Number of Observed 207 KeV Two Photon Events ......................... 61 At 4 0 Torr 4-13 Ratio of 2 Gamma Events to Compton Events ....................................62