Comments on Proton Emission after Muon Capture

The emission of particles after atomic muon capture was studied extensively during the early 70's. In particular, proton and neutron spectra were measured in order to determine whether nuclear emission was due to a direct or a thermalized process. It was found that protons emitted after atomic muon capture decreased from a probability of 15% in light nuclei (C, N, O) to essentially 0% for heavy systems such as Sn, and that only 10% of this emission could be ascribed to statistical processes. On the other hand a significant thermal spectrum of neutrons in addition to a direct component was found. Unfortunately these studies were not always self consistent so that information of relevance to the MECO experiment is ambiguous.