Stopped Muon Decay Lifetime Shifts due to Condensed Matter

TL;DR

This paper investigates how condensed matter environments influence the decay lifetime of stopped muons, showing that medium-induced corrections can surpass vacuum radiative effects at first order in alpha.

Contribution

It demonstrates that condensed matter effects significantly modify muon decay lifetimes, providing a new perspective on weak interactions in different media.

Findings

Condensed matter corrections dominate vacuum radiative corrections at first order in alpha.

Medium environment alters muon decay lifetime measurements.

Radiation impedance differences impact weak decay processes.

Abstract

Up to second order in alpha, vacuum electro-magnetic corrections to weak interaction induced charged particle lifetimes have been previously studied. In the laboratory, stopped muon lifetimes are measured in a condensed matter medium whose radiation impedance differs from that of the vacuum. The resulting condensed matter corrections to first order in $\alpha $ dominate those vacuum radiative corrections (two photon loops) which are second order in alpha.