Paschen-Back Effect as a Means of Detecting Muonium

Abstract

Although formation of muonium (the bound system of a ${\mu }^{+}$ meson and an electron) can be expected in suitable materials, the precession test for it has been negative. Since this test is sensitive to slight perturbations it is proposed to substitute for it a more positive and insensitive test which uses a strong magnetic field in the direction of the initial muon orientation rather than a weak field at right angles. In this way the depolarizing effect of the muonium hyperfine coupling is quenched and the beta-decay asymmetry will be increased. The amount of increase determines the fraction of muons forming muonium. For a field of five kilogauss the quenching should be 90% complete.