Muon decay in orbit: spectrum of high-energy electrons

Abstract

Experimental searches for lepton-flavor-violating coherent muon-to-electron conversion in the field of a nucleus, have been proposed to reach the unprecedented sensitivity of 10^(-16) - 10^(-18) per stopped muon. At that level, they probe new interactions at effective-mass scales well beyond 1000 TeV. However, they must contend with background from ordinary bound muon decay. To better understand the background-spectrum shape and rate, we have carried out a detailed analysis of Coulombic-bound-state muon decay, including nuclear recoil. Implications for future experiments are briefly discussed.