Mario De Vincenzi | Searcharxiv

arXiv2017

First FAMU observation of muon transfer from mu-p atoms to higher-Z elements

The FAMU experiment aims to accurately measure the hyperfine splitting of the ground state of the muonic hydrogen atom. A measurement of the transfer rate of muons from hydrogen to heavier gases is necessary for this purpose. In June 2014, within a preliminary experiment, a pressurized gas-target was exposed to the pulsed low-energy muon beam at the RIKEN RAL muon facility (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK). The main goal of the test was the characterization of both the noise induced by the pulsed beam and the X-ray detectors. The apparatus, to some extent rudimental, has served admirably to this task. Technical results have been published that prove the validity of the choices made and pave the way for the next steps. This paper presents the results of physical relevance of measurements of the muon transfer rate to carbon dioxide, oxygen, and argon from non-thermalized excited mu-p atoms. The analysis methodology and the approach to the systematics errors are useful for the subsequent study of the transfer rate as function of the kinetic energy of the mu-p currently under way.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2014

Implementing a simple vectorial bridge with a digital oscilloscope

We show how to exploit instrumentation available in undergraduate student laboratories to build a simple vectorial bridge. In particular we take advantage from the possibility to read data from a digital oscilloscope with a personal computer and describe an algorithm to obtain an accurate evaluation of the phase difference between two sinusoidal signals. The use of the bridge to characterize components of a high Q RLC filter is shown to greatly improve the understanding of results in resonance experiments. Direct evidence of dielectric losses, of skin currents and of the effect of distributed capacitance is obtained.

physics.ed-ph↗