The muX project
Frederik Waûters, A. Knecht
Abstract
The project is conducting a series of muonic X-ray measurements in medium- and high-Z nuclei at PSI, utilizing a high-purity germanium detector array, in-beam muon detectors, and a modern digital data-acquisition system. A novel hydrogen target for muon transfer was developed, enabling measurements with as little as a few micrograms of target material. First measurements with radioactive Cm and Ra targets were conducted, aimed at determining their nuclear charge radii. These serve as important input for upcoming atomic parity violation experiments. The apparatus is also used to perform a feasibility study of an atomic parity violation experiment with the 2s-1s <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> <mml:mi>s</mml:mi> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mi>s</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> muonic X-ray transition. In addition, the setup has been made available for a wider range of nuclear, particle, and solid-state physics measurements.