Atomic Alchemy

Abstract

We consider the transitions between electromagnetic bound states, such as the exclusive weak decay of a muonic atom into an electronic atom: $(\mu^- Z) \to (e^- Z) {\bar \nu_e }\nu_\mu . $ We show that relativistic effects in the atomic wavefunctions are crucial for determining the rate. In the case of heavy atoms, the exclusive channel branching ratios exceed $10^{-6},$ possibly bringing the study of these rare decays within experimental reach. Such processes thus provide a detailed laboratory for studying the high momentum tail of wavefunctions in atomic physics; in addition, they provide a simple toy model for investigating analogous exclusive heavy hadronic decays in quantum chromodynamics such as $B \to \pi e \nu.$