IChO 2003 · Theory problem 25

Muon

SECTION B: PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY

PROBLEM 25 Muon

The muon (\(\mu\)) is a subatomic particle of the lepton family which has same charge and magnetic behavior as the electron, but has a different mass and is unstable, i.e., it disintegrates into other particles within microseconds after its creation. Here you will attempt to determine the mass of the muon using two rather different approaches.

a) The most common spontaneous disintegration reaction for the muon is:

Figure 1

where \(\overline{\nu}_e\) is the electron antineutrino, and \(\nu_\mu\) the muon neutrino. In a given experiment using a stationary muon, \(\overline{\nu}_e+\nu_\mu\), carried away a total energy of \(2.000\times10^{-12}\ \mathrm{J}\), while the electron was moving with a kinetic energy of \(1.4846\times10^{-11}\ \mathrm{J}\). Determine the mass of the muon.

b) Many experiments have studied the spectroscopy of atoms that have captured a muon in place of an electron. These exotic atoms are formed in a variety of excited states. The transition from the third excited state to the first excited state of an atom consisting of a \(\ce{^1H}\) nucleus and a muon attached to it was observed at a wavelength of \(2.615\ \mathrm{nm}\). Determine the mass of the muon.

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • a) From energy conservation, \(\boxed{m_\mu=1.8835\times10^{-28}\ \mathrm{kg}}\). The stated event has a momentum-conservation inconsistency: the electron's momentum, \(p_ec=1.49\times10^{-11}\ \mathrm{J}\), exceeds what the two neutrinos can carry, \(c\,|\mathbf p_{\overline{\nu}_e}+\mathbf p_{\nu_\mu}|\le2.000\times10^{-12}\ \mathrm{J}\).
  • b) \(\boxed{m_\mu=1.884\times10^{-28}\ \mathrm{kg}}\), including the finite mass of the proton.

Solution

The problem gives no numerical physical constants. We use the standard values \[ \begin{aligned} c&=2.99792458\times10^8\ \mathrm{m\,s^{-1}},\\ m_e&=9.1093837\times10^{-31}\ \mathrm{kg},\\ m_p&=1.6726219\times10^{-27}\ \mathrm{kg},\\ R_\infty&=1.09737316\times10^7\ \mathrm{m^{-1}}. \end{aligned} \]

a)

The decay, with the particle charges shown explicitly, is \[ \ce{\mu^- -> e^- + \bar{\nu}_{e} + \nu_{\mu}}. \]

Because the initial muon is stationary, its total energy is its rest energy, \(m_\mu c^2\). The final electron carries both rest energy and kinetic energy. Hence \[ m_\mu c^2=m_ec^2+K_e+E_{\overline{\nu}_e}+E_{\nu_\mu}. \]

The stated neutrino energy is already their combined total energy, so \[ m_\mu=m_e+\frac{K_e+E_{\text{neutrinos}}}{c^2}. \]

Substitution gives \[ \begin{aligned} m_\mu &=9.1093837\times10^{-31}\ \mathrm{kg} +\frac{1.4846\times10^{-11}+2.000\times10^{-12}} {(2.99792458\times10^8)^2}\ \mathrm{kg}\\ &=\boxed{1.8835\times10^{-28}\ \mathrm{kg}}. \end{aligned} \]

This is approximately \(206.76\,m_e\).

b)

The \(\ce{^1H+}\) nucleus is a proton (hydrogen-1 ion; SMILES [1H+]). Together with the bound negative muon, it forms muonic hydrogen. Standard SMILES cannot represent a muon or its orbital state.

Both particles move about their common centre of mass, so the hydrogen-like energy levels depend on the reduced mass \[ m_r=\frac{m_\mu m_p}{m_\mu+m_p}, \] rather than on \(m_\mu\) alone. For nuclear charge \(Z=1\), \[ E_n=-hcR_\infty\frac{m_r}{m_e}\frac{1}{n^2}. \]

The ground state has \(n=1\); therefore the third excited state is \(n=4\), and the first excited state is \(n=2\). For the emitted photon, \[ \frac{hc}{\lambda} =E_4-E_2 =hcR_\infty\frac{m_r}{m_e} \left(\frac{1}{2^2}-\frac{1}{4^2}\right). \]

Since the bracket equals \(3/16\), \[ \frac{1}{\lambda} =\frac{3}{16}R_\infty\frac{m_r}{m_e}. \]

Thus \[ \begin{aligned} m_r &=\frac{16m_e}{3R_\infty\lambda}\\ &=\frac{16(9.1093837\times10^{-31})} {3(1.09737316\times10^7)(2.615\times10^{-9})}\ \mathrm{kg}\\ &=1.6930185\times10^{-28}\ \mathrm{kg}. \end{aligned} \]

Solving the reduced-mass relation for the muon mass, \[ \frac{1}{m_\mu}=\frac{1}{m_r}-\frac{1}{m_p}, \qquad m_\mu=\frac{m_rm_p}{m_p-m_r}. \]

Consequently, \[ m_\mu= \frac{(1.6930185\times10^{-28})(1.6726219\times10^{-27})} {1.6726219\times10^{-27}-1.6930185\times10^{-28}} =\boxed{1.884\times10^{-28}\ \mathrm{kg}}. \]

The solution was checked against the official solution.