Analysis and simulations to obtain the weak magnetism term in ²²Na beta decay

Abstract

The study of ²²Na beta decay offers an opportunity to test the Standard Model of Particle Physics via measurements of the β−γ angular correlation. A previous measurement of this correlation yielded a non-zero value, indicating the need for a higher-order matrix element to the decay, beyond the allowed V − A approximation. On assuming the Conserved Vector Current (CVC) hypothesis for weak interactions and using the magnetic dipole M1 width of the analog 2+ state in ²²Na, one obtains an unexpectedly large 'second-class' form factor for 22Na β decay that is in disagreement with the Standard Model prediction. This thesis describes an analysis of data obtained from a previous ²¹Ne(p, γ) experiment to obtain the M1 width of the 2+ state of interest in ²²Na. This work aims to use the M1 width and the independently measured of the β − γ angular correlation to obtain a higher-order Standard-Model-allowed weak magnetism form factor for the decay, in an attempt to explain the observed anomaly mentioned above.