How does the muon differ from the electron?

JUL 01, 1971

Experiments at SLAC on muon‐proton deep inelastic scattering are part of the continuing search for differences between the muon and the electron.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3022841

Martin L. Perl

One of the great puzzles of elementary‐particle physics is how to understand the relationships between the muon and the electron. The set of properties that the muon and electron possess in common are collectively described by the phrase “muon–electron universality.” This set is large and comprises most of the properties of the muon and electron; see Table 1, page 44.

References

1. S. J. Brodsky in Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Electron and Photon Interactions at High Energy, Daresbury Nuclear Physics Laboratory, Daresbury, UK (1969);
S. J. Brodsky, S. D. Drell, Ann. Rev. Nucl. Sci. 20, 147 (1970). (These articles include reviews of quantum electrodynamic tests of muon‐electron universality.)https://doi.org/ARNUA8
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T. D. Lee, C. S. Wu, Ann. Rev. Nucl. Sci. 15, 381 (1965). (These articles include reviews of the weak‐interaction tests of muon–electron universality.)https://doi.org/ARNUA8
3. E. Picasso in High‐Energy Physics and Nuclear Structure 1970, Plenum, New York (1970). (This article also reviews recent tests for muon–electron universality.)
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5. V. Alles‐Borelli and others, Letters Nuovo Cimento 4, 1156 (1970);
J. J. Sakurai, Letters Nuovo Cimento, 1, 624 (1971).
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R. E. Taylor in Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Electron and Photon Interactions at High Energy, Daresbury Nuclear Physics Laboratory, Daresbury, UK (1969).
12. For the application of this equation to muon‐proton elastic scattering see: D. Kiang, S. H. Ng, Phys. Rev. D2, 1964 (1970) and the references contained in that paper.
13. D. H. Perkins in Proceedings of CERN Topical Conference on Weak Interactions, CERN, Geneva (1969).

More about the Authors

Martin L. Perl. Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University.