Proton-structure corrections to hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen

Abstract

We present the derivation of the formulas for the proton structure-dependent terms in the hyperfine splitting of muonic hydrogen. We use compatible conventions throughout the calculations to derive a consistent set of formulas that reconcile differences between our results and some specific terms in earlier work. Convention conversion corrections are explicitly presented, which reduce the calculated hyperfine splitting by about $46$ ppm. We also note that using only modern fits to the proton elastic form factors gives a smaller than historical spread of Zemach radii and leads to a reduced uncertainty in the hyperfine splitting. Additionally, hyperfine splittings have an impact on the muonic hydrogen Lamb shift and proton radius measurement, however the correction we advocate has a small effect there.