Nuclear correlation functions and muon capture

Abstract

Properties of certain nuclear correlation functions which enter into the theory of muon capture in complex nuclei in the closure approximation are examined. The reliability of certain suggested methods for evaluating these correlation functions involving the Fermi gas approximation, and refinements of it, are assessed both from the point of view of internal theoretical self-consistency and by comparison with pertinent empirical information available from photodisintegration data on nuclei.