The deuteron-radius puzzle is alive: A new analysis of nuclear structure uncertainties

TL;DR

This paper investigates the nuclear structure uncertainties in the deuteron radius puzzle, finding that these uncertainties are unlikely to explain the discrepancy between theory and experiment in muonic deuterium measurements.

Contribution

The study provides a comprehensive analysis of nuclear structure correction uncertainties, reducing the discrepancy from 2.6σ to 2σ and suggesting nuclear theory is not the main source of the puzzle.

Findings

Discrepancy remains after uncertainty analysis

Nuclear theory uncertainties are unlikely the cause

Discrepancy reduced from 2.6σ to 2σ

Abstract

To shed light on the deuteron radius puzzle we analyze the theoretical uncertainties of the nuclear structure corrections to the Lamb shift in muonic deuterium. We find that the discrepancy between the calculated two-photon exchange correction and the corresponding experimentally inferred value by Pohl et al. [1] remain. The present result is consistent with our previous estimate, although the discrepancy is reduced from 2.6 $\sigma$ to 2 $\sigma$. The error analysis includes statistic as well as systematic uncertainties stemming from the use of nucleon-nucleon interactions derived from chiral effective field theory at various orders. We therefore conclude that nuclear theory uncertainty is more likely not the source of the discrepancy.