Polarization transfer from polarized nuclear spin to μ − spin in muonic atom

Abstract

A theoretical study of polarization transfer from an initially-polarized nuclear spin to a μ − spin in a muonic atom is given. The switching of the hyperfine interaction at excited muonic states as well as at the muonic 1s state is taken into account. The upper state of the hyperfine doublet at the muonic 1s state is considered to proceed down to the lower state. It is found that, as the hyperfine interaction becomes effective at a higher excited muonic orbital, a lesser extent of polarization is transferred from the nuclear spin to the μ − spin. The theoretical values obtained are compared with the recent experiment of μ − repolarization in a polarized 209Bi target.