Related papers: Status of the TRIUMF PIENU Experiment
The PIENU experiment aims at the measurement of the branching ratio R = \Gamma (\pi -> e \nu + \pi -> e \nu \gamma) / \Gamma (\pi -> \mu \nu + \pi -> \mu \nu \gamma) at the <0.1% precision level, with which mass scales of 1000 TeV/c^{2} can…
The PIENU experiment at TRIUMF is aimed at a measurement of the branching ratio $R^{e/\mu}$ = ${\Gamma\big((\pi^{+} \rightarrow e^{+} \nu_{e}) + (\pi^{+} \rightarrow e^{+} \nu_{e}\gamma)\big)}/{\Gamma\big((\pi^{+} \rightarrow \mu^{+}…
In the Standard Model, lepton universality refers to the identical electroweak gauge interactions among charged leptons. The measurement of the branching ratio $R_{e / \mu} = \frac{\Gamma(\pi\rightarrow\ e…
Two results from the PIENU Experiment are presented reporting a test of lepton universality in pion decay and improved limits on heavy neutrinos coupling to positrons. The status of the full analysis for the $\pi^+ \rightarrow \mbox{e}^+…
A next-generation rare pion decay experiment, PIONEER, is strongly motivated by several inconsistencies between Standard Model (SM) predictions and data pointing towards the potential violation of lepton flavor universality. It will probe…
PIONEER is a rapidly developing effort aimed to perform a pristine test of lepton flavour universality (LFU) and of the unitarity of the first row of the CKM matrix by significantly improving the measurements of rare decays of the charged…
The rare pion decays ${\pi}^+{\rightarrow}{\mu}^+{\nu}_{\mu}{\nu}\bar{\nu}$ and ${\pi}^+{\rightarrow}e^+{\nu}_{e}{\nu}\bar{\nu}$ are allowed in the Standard Model but highly suppressed. These decays were searched for using data from the…
A new measurement of $B_{\pi e2}$, the $\pi^+ \to e^+\nu(\gamma)$ decay branching ratio, is currently under way at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The present experimental result on $B_{\pi e2}$ constitutes the most accurate test of lepton…
Building on the rare pion and muon decay results of the PIBETA experiment, the PEN collaboration has undertaken a precise measurement of B_{\pi e2} = R^\pi_{e/\mu}, the \pi^+ -> e^+\nu(\gamma) decay branching ratio, at the Paul Scherrer…
Pion $\beta$ decay, $\pi^+ \to\pi^0 e^+ \nu_e$, offers a pristine way to measure the CKM matrix element $V_{ud}$ in a purely mesonic system, with excellent control over the hadronic matrix elements. We review the physics goals and current…
A new measurement of the branching ratio, $R_{e/\mu} =\Gamma (\pi^+ \rightarrow \mbox{e}^+ \nu + \pi^+ \rightarrow \mbox{e}^+ \nu \gamma)/ \Gamma (\pi^+ \rightarrow \mu^+ \nu + \pi^+ \rightarrow \mu^+ \nu \gamma)$, resulted in…
The three body pion decays ${\pi}^+{\rightarrow}l^+{\nu}X~(l=e,{\mu})$, where $X$ is a weakly interacting neutral boson, were searched for using the full data set from the PIENU experiment. An improved limit on…
A new measurement of $B_{\pi e2}$, the $\pi^+ \to e^+\nu(\gamma)$ decay branching ratio, is currently under way at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The present experimental result on $B_{\pi e2}$ constitutes the most accurate test of lepton…
The TRIUMF Weak Interaction Symmetry Test (TWIST) experiment was designed to test the standard model at high precision in the purely leptonic decay of polarized muons. A general four-fermion interaction model is used to describe the muon…
We have used the PIBETA detector at the PSI for a precise measurement of rare pion and muon weak decays. We have collected a large statistical sample of (1) pi+ -> e+ nu, (2) pi+ -> pi0 e+ nu, (3) pi+ -> e+ nu gamma, (4) mu+ -> e+ nu nu,…
Simple dynamics, few available decay channels, and extremely well controlled radiative and loop corrections, make pion and muon decays a sensitive means for testing the underlying symmetries, the universality of weak fermion couplings, as…
The physics motivation and the conceptual design of the PIONEER experiment, a next-generation rare pion decay experiment testing lepton flavor universality and CKM unitarity, are described. Phase I of the PIONEER experiment, which was…
Using a large acceptance calorimeter and a stopped pion beam we have made a precise measurement of the rare Pi+ -> Pi0 e+ Nu,(pi_beta) decay branching ratio. We have evaluated the branching ratio by normalizing the number of observed…
Allowed charged $\pi$ meson decays are characterized by simple dynamics, few available decay channels, mainly into leptons, and extremely well controlled radiative and loop corrections. In that sense, pion decays represent a veritable…
Simple dynamics, few available decay channels, and highly controlled radiative and loop corrections, make pion and muon decays a sensitive means of exploring details of the underlying symmetries. We review the current status of the rare…