Search for: All records

We present details on a new measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly, $a_{\mu }=(g_{\mu }-2)/2$. The result is based on positive muon data taken at Fermilab’s Muon Campus during the 2019 and 2020 accelerator runs. The measurement uses $3.1\mathrm{GeV}/c$polarized muons stored in a 7.1-m-radius storage ring with a 1.45 T uniform magnetic field. The value of $a_{\mu }$is determined from the measured difference between the muon spin precession frequency and its cyclotron frequency. This difference is normalized to the strength of the magnetic field, measured using nuclear magnetic resonance. The ratio is then corrected for small contributions from beam motion, beam dispersion, and transient magnetic fields. We measure $a_{\mu }=116592057\left(25\right)\times {10}^{-11}$(0.21 ppm). This is the world’s most precise measurement of this quantity and represents a factor of 2.2 improvement over our previous result based on the 2018 dataset. In combination, the two datasets yield $a_{\mu }\left(\mathrm{FNAL}\right)=116592055\left(24\right)\times {10}^{-11}$(0.20 ppm). Combining this with the measurements from Brookhaven National Laboratory for both positive and negative muons, the new world average is $a_{\mu }\left(\exp \right)=116592059\left(22\right)\times {10}^{-11}$(0.19 ppm). Published by the American Physical Society2024 

We present a new measurement of the positive muon magnetic anomaly, 𝑎𝜇≡(𝑔𝜇−2)/2, from the Fermilab Muon 𝑔−2 Experiment using data collected in 2019 and 2020. We have analyzed more than 4 times the number of positrons from muon decay than in our previous result from 2018 data. The systematic error is reduced by more than a factor of 2 due to better running conditions, a more stable beam, and improved knowledge of the magnetic field weighted by the muon distribution, 𝜔𝑝, and of the anomalous precession frequency corrected for beam dynamics effects, 𝜔𝑎. From the ratio 𝜔𝑎/𝜔𝑝, together with precisely determined external parameters, we determine 𝑎𝜇=116 592 057⁢(25)×10−11 (0.21 ppm). Combining this result with our previous result from the 2018 data, we obtain 𝑎𝜇⁡(FNAL)=116 592 055⁢(24)×10−11 (0.20 ppm). The new experimental world average is 𝑎𝜇⁡(exp)=116 592 059⁢(22)×10−11 (0.19 ppm), which represents a factor of 2 improvement in precision. 

The part-per-million measurement of the positive muon lifetime anddetermination of the Fermi constant by the MuLan experiment at the PaulScherrer Institute is reviewed. The experiment used an innovative,time-structured, surface muon beam and anear-4 \pi π ,finely-segmented, plastic scintillator positron detector. Two in-vacuummuon stopping targets were used: a ferromagnetic foil with a largeinternal magnetic field, and a quartz crystal in a moderate externalmagnetic field. The experiment acquired a dataset of 1.6 \times 10^{12} 1.6 × 10 12 positive muon decays and obtained a muon lifetime \tau_{\mu} = 2\, 196\, 980.3(2.2) τ μ = 2 196 980.3 ( 2.2 ) ~ps(1.0~ppm) and Fermi constant G _F = 1.166\, 378\, 7(6) \times 10^{-5} F = 1.166 378 7 ( 6 ) × 10 − 5 GeV ^{-2} − 2 (0.5~ppm). The thirty-fold improvement in \tau_{\mu} τ μ has proven valuable for precision measurements in nuclear muon captureand the commensurate improvement in G _F F has proven valuable for precision tests of the standard model.