Low Energy, High Precision Muon Experiments

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This project is a continuing program of low energy, high precision, muon experiments. The measurements are the MuSun experiment at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland and the new g-2 experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Facility (FNAL) near Chicago. Both experiments utilize innovative methods to address questions ranging from the testing of the Standard Model to the nature of the weak nuclear interaction. The MuSun experiment at PSI will measure the lifetime of the muonic deuterium atom to a precision of about 10 parts-per-million. The measurement will determine the muonic deuterium doublet capture rate to unrivaled accuracy of 1.5%. The New g-2 experiment at FNAL will measure the muon's anomalous magnetic moment to a precision of about 0.14 ppm. The measurement addresses the tantalizing discrepancy between the BNL E821 result and the Standard Model calculation of the muon anomaly and offers a probe of new particles and undetected forces that uniquely complements the physics reach of the Large Hadron Collider. The project involves several areas of broader impact and broader significance. The PI will continue his involvement of high school students, physics majors and physics graduate students in research activities. The group's involvement in high-speed data acquisition and high-volume data analysis will expose our students to many aspects of cutting-edge computer hardware/software. The proposed measurements of textbook quantities including fundamental parameters and basic interactions will have wide-range impact in nuclear, particle and astrophysics.