Proposal to search for mu- N -> e- N with a single event sensitivity below 10 -16

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Abstract

We propose a new experiment, Mu2e, to search for charged lepton flavor violation with unprecedented sensitivity. We will measure the ratio of the coherent neutrinoless conversion in the field of a nucleus of a negatively charged muon into an electron to the muon capture process: R{sub {mu}e} = {mu}{sup -} + A(Z,N) {yields} e{sup -} + A(Z,N)/{mu}{sup -} + A(Z,N) {yields} {nu}{sub {mu}} + A(Z-1, N), with a sensitivity R{sub {mu}e} {le} 6 x 10{sup -17} at 90% CL. This is almost a four order-of-magnitude improvement over the existing limit. The observation of such a process would be unambiguous evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. Since the discovery of the muon in 1936, physicists have attempted to answer I.I. Rabi's famous question: 'Who ordered that?' Why is there a muon? What role does it play in the larger questions of why there are three families and flavors of quarks, leptons, and neutrinos? We know quarks mix through a mechanism described by the Cabbibo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix, which has been studied for forty years. Neutrino mixing has been observed in the last decade, but mixing among the family of charged leptons has never been seen. The current limits are of order 10{sup -11} - 10{sup -13} so the process is rare indeed. Why is such an experiment important and timely? A major motivation for experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the possible observation of supersymmetric particles in the TeV mass range. Many of these supersymmetric models predict a {mu}-e conversion signal at R{sub {mu}e} {approx} 10{sup -15}. We propose to search for {mu}-e conversion at a sensitivity that exceeds this by more than an order of magnitude. The LHC may not be able to conclusively distinguish among supersymmetric models, so Mu2e will provide invaluable information should the LHC observe a signal. In the case where the LHC finds no evidence of supersymmetry, or other beyond-the-standard-model physics, Mu2e will probe for new physics at mass scales up to 10{sup 4} TeV, far beyond the reach of any planned accelerator.

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