New studies of allowed pion and muon decays

Building on the rare pion and muon decay results of the PIBETA experiment, the PEN collaboration has undertaken a precise measurement of Bπe2≡Re/μπ, the π+ → e+ν(γ) decay branching ratio, at the Paul Scherrer Institute, to reduce the present 40× experimental precision lag behind theory to ∼6 − 7×. Because of large helicity suppression, Re/μπ is uniquely sensitive to contributions from non-(V - A) physics, making this decay a particularly suitable subject of study. Even at current precision, the experimental value of Bπe2 provides the most accurate test of lepton universality available. During runs in 2008-10, PEN has accumulated over 2 × 107 πe2 events; a comprehensive maximum-likelihood analysis is currently under way. The new data will also lead to improved precision of the earlier PIBETA results on radiative π and μ decays.