{"id":{"repo_id":"houston","oai_identifier":"oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/4386"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/houston/oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/4386","repository":{"repo_id":"houston","name":"University of Houston","base_url":"https://uh-ir.tdl.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Neutron Emission Following Nuclear Muon Capture in Al","abstract":"The Mu2e collaboration is designing an experiment which will search for the forbidden decay μ− + Al-27 → e− + Al-27 with a single-event sensitivity of 3 × 10^−17 , an improvement of four orders of magnitude beyond the current limit set by the SINDRUM II collaboration. Achieving this sensitivity requires a thorough understanding of the backgrounds and competing interactions. Therefore, the AlCap collaboration was formed to study particle emissions from μ− + Al-27 → νμ + M g-27. This dissertation will present the results of the neutron emissions from this study, and includes a measurement of the muon lifetime when captured by Al, Ti, and Pb with results of 864 ± 2, 341 ± 1, and 78 ± 1 ns, respectively. Neutron recoils are measured using two BC501a detectors by removing gamma interactions using an integrated charge comparison method for pulse shape discrimination. The response of the detectors is studied using NRESP7 and Geant4. The neutron emission spectra are unfolded in the energy range from 2 to 12 MeV using Heprow. The resulting spectrum from Al is compared to current simulations used by Mu2e. The rate of neutron emissions for neutrons with an energy between 2 and 12 MeV is determined for these three targets, giving a rate of 0.63 ± 0.04, 0.44 ± 0.03, and 0.56 ± 0.04 neutrons per muon captured for, respectively, Al, Ti and Pb. If the determined evaporation spectrum is accurate below 2 MeV, the Al rate is consistent with a total rate of 1.10(6) neutrons per muon capture. The spectrum is also unfolded for muon capture on O showing a resonance, but the results are inconsistent between the two detectors.","abstract_html":"The Mu2e collaboration is designing an experiment which will search for the forbidden decay μ− + Al-27 → e− + Al-27 with a single-event sensitivity of 3 × 10^−17 , an improvement of four orders of magnitude beyond the current limit set by the SINDRUM II collaboration. Achieving this sensitivity requires a thorough understanding of the backgrounds and competing interactions. Therefore, the AlCap collaboration was formed to study particle emissions from μ− + Al-27 → νμ + M g-27. This dissertation will present the results of the neutron emissions from this study, and includes a measurement of the muon lifetime when captured by Al, Ti, and Pb with results of 864 ± 2, 341 ± 1, and 78 ± 1 ns, respectively. Neutron recoils are measured using two BC501a detectors by removing gamma interactions using an integrated charge comparison method for pulse shape discrimination. The response of the detectors is studied using NRESP7 and Geant4. The neutron emission spectra are unfolded in the energy range from 2 to 12 MeV using Heprow. The resulting spectrum from Al is compared to current simulations used by Mu2e. The rate of neutron emissions for neutrons with an energy between 2 and 12 MeV is determined for these three targets, giving a rate of 0.63 ± 0.04, 0.44 ± 0.03, and 0.56 ± 0.04 neutrons per muon captured for, respectively, Al, Ti and Pb. If the determined evaporation spectrum is accurate below 2 MeV, the Al rate is consistent with a total rate of 1.10(6) neutrons per muon capture. The spectrum is also unfolded for muon capture on O showing a resonance, but the results are inconsistent between the two detectors.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Alexander, Damien Michael Talmadge 1981-"],"institution":"University of Houston","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Physics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Hungerford, Ed V."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Bellwied, Rene","Koerner, Lisa W.","Kouri, Donald J.","Guloy, Arnold M."],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-12","date_published":"2018-12","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:32:54Z","subjects":["Muons","Neutrons","AlCap"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["The author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s)."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10657/4386","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Hungerford, Ed V."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Bellwied, Rene","Koerner, Lisa W.","Kouri, Donald J.","Guloy, Arnold M."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Alexander, Damien Michael Talmadge 1981-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2019-09-10T13:41:40Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2018-12"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Physics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Houston"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Muons","Neutrons","AlCap"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["The author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s)."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10657/4386"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Mu2e collaboration is designing an experiment which will search for the forbidden decay μ− + Al-27 → e− + Al-27 with a single-event sensitivity of 3 × 10^−17 , an improvement of four orders of magnitude beyond the current limit set by the SINDRUM II collaboration. Achieving this sensitivity requires a thorough understanding of the backgrounds and competing interactions. Therefore, the AlCap collaboration was formed to study particle emissions from μ− + Al-27 → νμ + M g-27. This dissertation will present the results of the neutron emissions from this study, and includes a measurement of the muon lifetime when captured by Al, Ti, and Pb with results of 864 ± 2, 341 ± 1, and 78 ± 1 ns, respectively. Neutron recoils are measured using two BC501a detectors by removing gamma interactions using an integrated charge comparison method for pulse shape discrimination. The response of the detectors is studied using NRESP7 and Geant4. The neutron emission spectra are unfolded in the energy range from 2 to 12 MeV using Heprow. The resulting spectrum from Al is compared to current simulations used by Mu2e. The rate of neutron emissions for neutrons with an energy between 2 and 12 MeV is determined for these three targets, giving a rate of 0.63 ± 0.04, 0.44 ± 0.03, and 0.56 ± 0.04 neutrons per muon captured for, respectively, Al, Ti and Pb. If the determined evaporation spectrum is accurate below 2 MeV, the Al rate is consistent with a total rate of 1.10(6) neutrons per muon capture. The spectrum is also unfolded for muon capture on O showing a resonance, but the results are inconsistent between the two detectors."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Neutron Emission Following Nuclear Muon Capture in Al"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Hungerford, Ed V."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Bellwied, Rene","Koerner, Lisa W.","Kouri, Donald J.","Guloy, Arnold M."],"dc:creator":["Alexander, Damien Michael Talmadge 1981-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2019-09-10T13:41:40Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2018-12"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Mu2e collaboration is designing an experiment which will search for the forbidden decay μ− + Al-27 → e− + Al-27 with a single-event sensitivity of 3 × 10^−17 , an improvement of four orders of magnitude beyond the current limit set by the SINDRUM II collaboration. Achieving this sensitivity requires a thorough understanding of the backgrounds and competing interactions. Therefore, the AlCap collaboration was formed to study particle emissions from μ− + Al-27 → νμ + M g-27. This dissertation will present the results of the neutron emissions from this study, and includes a measurement of the muon lifetime when captured by Al, Ti, and Pb with results of 864 ± 2, 341 ± 1, and 78 ± 1 ns, respectively. Neutron recoils are measured using two BC501a detectors by removing gamma interactions using an integrated charge comparison method for pulse shape discrimination. The response of the detectors is studied using NRESP7 and Geant4. The neutron emission spectra are unfolded in the energy range from 2 to 12 MeV using Heprow. The resulting spectrum from Al is compared to current simulations used by Mu2e. The rate of neutron emissions for neutrons with an energy between 2 and 12 MeV is determined for these three targets, giving a rate of 0.63 ± 0.04, 0.44 ± 0.03, and 0.56 ± 0.04 neutrons per muon captured for, respectively, Al, Ti and Pb. If the determined evaporation spectrum is accurate below 2 MeV, the Al rate is consistent with a total rate of 1.10(6) neutrons per muon capture. The spectrum is also unfolded for muon capture on O showing a resonance, but the results are inconsistent between the two detectors."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10657/4386"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:rights":["The author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s)."],"dc:subject":["Muons","Neutrons","AlCap"],"dc:title":["Neutron Emission Following Nuclear Muon Capture in Al"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Physics"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Houston"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:32:54Z"}