Theoretical and computational study of the energy dependence of the muon transfer rate from hydrogen to higher-Z gases

TL;DR

This paper investigates the energy dependence of muon transfer rates from hydrogen to heavier gases, proposing a new measurement method to improve understanding crucial for muonic hydrogen spectroscopy and proton structure studies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental approach to measure muon transfer rates at various temperatures, aiming to verify theoretical predictions and enhance data accuracy.

Findings

Proposed a temperature-based measurement method.

Estimated optimal experimental conditions.

Analyzed the energy dependence of muon transfer rates.

Abstract

The recent PSI Lamb shift experiment and the controversy about proton size revived the interest in measuring the hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen as an alternative possibility for comparing ordinary and muonic hydrogen spectroscopy data on proton electromagnetic structure. This measurement critically depends on the energy dependence of the muon transfer rate to heavier gases in the epithermal range. The available data provide only qualitative information, and the theoretical predictions have not been verified. We propose a new method by measurements of the transfer rate in thermalized target at different temperatures, estimate its accuracy and investigate the optimal experimental conditions.