Speaker
Dr
Anthony Palladino
(Boston University)
Description
The Mu2e experiment, a search for Charged-Lepton Flavor Violation (CLFV), aims to
measure the rate of neutrinoless muon-to-electron conversion in the coulomb field of an aluminum nucleus,
$R_{\mu e} = \Gamma(\mu\mathrm{Al} \to e\mathrm{Al}) / \Gamma_{\mathrm{capture}}(\mu\mathrm{Al})$.
If CLFV is not observed, we will improve the current limit by a factor 10,000.
In order to reach our goal, we must measure the denominator of $R_{\mu e}$ to about the 10% level.
In Mu2e, muons will be stopped in a series of thin aluminum foils known as the Muon Stopping Target.
As muons are captured in excited energy levels of aluminum atoms they promptly cascade down
to the $1s$ state emitting characteristic X-rays. Captured muons also produce excited nuclei which emit
gamma-rays with known energies and intensities.
One sub-system of the Mu2e experiment, the Stopping-Target Monitor, will measure the X- and gamma-rays
using a high-purity germanium detector.
To overcome the extremely high background rates and avoid severe radiation damage we place the
detector far downstream of the Muon Stopping Target, employ a dipole magnet to sweep away charged
particles, a series of collimators to ensure the detector only views the Muon Stopping Target,
and shielding from background radiation. We present a detailed description of the sub-system design,
simulation results, and the normalization measurement technique.
Author
Dr
Anthony Palladino
(Boston University)
Co-author
Prof.
James Miller
(Boston University)
