The 8Li Calibration Source for the Sudbury Neutrino Obervatory

A calibration source employing 8Li (t_1/2 = 0.838s) has been developed for use with the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). This source creates a spectrum of beta particles with an energy range similar to that of the SNO 8B solar neutrino signal. The source is used to test the SNO detector's energy response, position reconstruction and data reduction algorithms. The 8Li isotope is created using a deuterium-tritium neutron generator in conjunction with a 11B target, and is carried to a decay chamber using a gas/aerosol transport system. The decay chamber detects prompt alpha particles by gas scintillation in coincidence with the beta particles which exit through a thin stainless steel wall. A description is given of the production, transport, and tagging techniques along with a discussion of the performance and application of the source.Comment: 11 pages plus 9 figures, Sumbitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods

Investigations of fast neutron production by 190 GeV/c muon interactions on different targets

The production of fast neutrons (1 MeV - 1 GeV) in high energy muon-nucleus interactions is poorly understood, yet it is fundamental to the understanding of the background in many underground experiments. The aim of the present experiment (CERN NA55) was to measure spallation neutrons produced by 190 GeV/c muons scattering on carbon, copper and lead targets. We have investigated the energy spectrum and angular distribution of spallation neutrons, and we report the result of our measurement of the neutron production differential cross section.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures ep

Limits on the neutrino magnetic moment from the MUNU experiment

The MUNU experiment was carried out at the Bugey nuclear power reactor. The aim was the study of electron antineutrino-electron elastic scattering at low energy. The recoil electrons were recorded in a gas time projection chamber, immersed in a tank filled with liquid scintillator serving as veto detector, suppressing in particular Compton electrons. The measured electron recoil spectrum is presented. Upper limits on the neutrino magnetic moment were derived and are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures Added reference: p.3, 1st col., TEXONO Added sentence: p.4, 1st col., electron attachement Modified sentence: p.5, 1st col., readout sequence Added sentence: p.5, 1st col., fast rise time cu

Sub MeV Particles Detection and Identification in the MUNU detector ((1)ISN, IN2P3/CNRS-UJF, Grenoble, France, (2)Institut de Physique, Neuch\^atel, Switzerland, (3) INFN, Padova Italy, (4) Physik-Institut, Z\"{u}rich, Switzerland)

We report on the performance of a 1 m$^{3}$ TPC filled with CF$_{4}$ at 3 bar, immersed in liquid scintillator and viewed by photomultipliers. Particle detection, event identification and localization achieved by measuring both the current signal and the scintillation light are presented. Particular features of $\alpha$ particle detection are also discussed. Finally, the ${54}$Mn photopeak, reconstructed from the Compton scattering and recoil angle is shown.Comment: Latex, 19 pages, 20 figure

Ordinary and radiative muon capture on the proton and the pseudoscalar form factor of the nucleon

We calculate ordinary and radiative muon capture on the proton in an effective field theory of pions, nucleons and delta isobars, working to third and second order in the small scale expansion respectively. Preceding calculations in chiral effective field theories only employed pion and nucleon degrees of freedom and were not able to reproduce the photon spectrum in the pioneering experiment of radiative muon capture on the proton from TRIUMF. For the past few years it has been speculated that the discrepancy between theory and experiment might be due to Delta(1232) related effects, which are only included via higher order contact interactions in the standard chiral approach. In this report we demonstrate that this speculation does not hold true. We show that contrary to expectations from naive dimensional analysis isobar effects on the photon spectrum and the total rate in radiative muon capture are of the order of a few percent, consistent with earlier findings in a more phenomenological approach. We further demonstrate that both ordinary and radiative muon capture constitute systems with a very well behaved chiral expansion, both in standard chiral perturbation theory and in the small scale expansion, and present some new ideas that might be at the bottom of the still unresolved discrepancy between theory and experiment in radiative muon capture. Finally we comment upon the procedure employed by the TRIUMF group to extract new information from their radiative muon capture experiment on the pseudoscalar form factor of the nucleon. We show that it is inconsistent with the ordinary muon capture data.Comment: 22 pp, RevTeX, uses epsf, 8 figs, enlarged version, discussion of ordinary muon capture on protons substantially enlarged, accepted for publication in Nucl.Phys.A, FZJ-IKP(TH)-2000-0

Capture rate and neutron helicity asymmetry for ordinary muon capture on hydrogen

Applying heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory to ordinary muon capture (OMC) on a proton, we calculate the capture rate and neutron helicity asymmetry up to next-to-next-to-leading order. For the singlet hyperfine state, we obtain the capture rate Gamma_0 = 695 sec^{-1} while, for the triplet hyperfine state, we obtain the capture rate Gamma_1 = 11.9 sec^{-1} and the neutron asymmetry alpha_1 = 0.93. If the existing formalism is used to relate these atomic capture rates to Gamma_{liq}, the OMC rate in liquid hydrogen, then Gamma_{liq} corresponding to our improved values of Gamma_0 and Gamma_1 is found to be significantly larger than the experimental value, primarily due to the updated larger value of g_A. We argue that this apparent difficulity may be correlated to the specious anomaly recently reported for mu^- + p to n + nu_mu + gamma, and we suggest a possibility to remove these two "problems" simply and simultaneously by reexamining the molecular physics input that underlies the conventional analysis of Gamma_{liq}.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur

Muon capture by a proton in heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory

The matrix element for muon capture by a proton is calculated to O(p^3) within heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory using the new O(p^3) Lagrangian of Ecker and Mojzis. External nucleon fields are renormalized using the appropriate definition of the wave function renormalization factor Z_N. Our expression for Z_N differs somewhat from that found in existing literature, but is the one which is consistent with the Lagrangian we use and the one which ensures, within our approach, the nonrenormalization of the vector coupling as required by the conserved vector current. Expressions for the standard muon capture form factors are derived and compared to experimental data and we determine three of the coefficients of the Ecker - Mojzis Lagrangian, namely, b_7, b_{19}, and b_{23}.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, using revte

Polarized photons in radiative muon capture

We discuss the measurement of polarized photons arising from radiative muon capture. The spectrum of left circularly polarized photons or equivalently the circular polarization of the photons emitted in radiative muon capture on hydrogen is quite sensitive to the strength of the induced pseudoscalar coupling constant $g_P$. A measurement of either of these quantities, although very difficult, might be sufficient to resolve the present puzzle resulting from the disagreement between the theoretical prediction for $g_P$ and the results of a recent experiment. This sensitivity results from the absence of left-handed radiation from the muon line and from the fact that the leading parts of the radiation from the hadronic lines, as determined from the chiral power counting rules of heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory, all contain pion poles.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure