arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to James J. Griffin.
A scorecard summary of the various data of the ``Sharp Lepton Problem'' is presented. The present situation, in which APEX reports ``...no evidence for sharp pairs...'' even as their data exhibits a sharp pair excess near 800 keV, is discussed. Two kinds of low energy experiments utilizing non-heavy ion processes are suggested as means to break the impasse arising from the ambiguity of the present heavy ion data.
The report of Ahmad et al., states that ``No evidence is found for sharp peaks in the present data.'' But this statement is factually inaccurate. Figure 1 exhibits the APEX' published U + Th ``wedge cut'' data, and background, which show a distinct (3.2 sigma) maximum of 83 excess pair counts in the 20 keV bin near 790 keV. A one-gaussian best fit to this excess reduces chi-squared (for the 21 bins from 500 to 920 keV) by 12.6 from 28.3 to 16.7, and the reduced chi-squared value from 1.41 to 0.98. Furthermore, at the 99% Confidence Level, the data impose lower and upper bounds of (24, 146) respectively upon the mean excess pair count in this bin. This data therefore provides positive, statistically significant evidence for sharp pairs near 790 keV. Whether this evidence is compelling is a separate question not addressed here.
The best fit to the published APEX U+Th data describes a sharp line of 123 pairs of width 23 keV at 793$\pm$7 keV; also, the data impose a positive 99.0%CL lower bound of 23 sharp pairs. It is therefore untenable to argue from the APEX data against the existence of sharp pairs. Data-only ratios APEX/EPOS pair counts show empirically that the two experiments' pair data are mutually consistent and of comparable statistical potency: conflicts, if any, can be resolved only by other independent evidence. A perspective is offered on the current status of the Sharp Lepton Problem, and alternative non-heavy-ion experimental approaches to it are recommended.
The experimental detection of the sharp lines of the \ee Puzzle is viewed as a struggle against Doppler broadening. Gedanken experiments which are realistic in zeroth order of detail are analyzed to show that the ORANGE and EPOS/I geometries select narrower slices of a Doppler broadened line than spherically inclusive (APEX and EPOS/II --like) apparati. Roughly speaking, the latter require event-by-event Doppler reconstruction simply to regain an even footing with the former. This suggests that APEX' or EPOS/II's coincident pair distributions must be statistically superior to those of EPOS/I or ORANGE in order to support a comparable inference about sharp structure. Under present circumstances, independent alternative data is invaluable. Therefore, a corroboration of Sakai's 330.1 keV ($<$ 3 keV wide) electron line in few MeV $e^+$ or $e^-$ bombardments of U and Th targets could prove crucial.