PNuT Seminar: Ab initio studies on muon capture in light nuclei

Lotta Jokiniemi, Postdoctoral researcher at TRIUMF, Canada's Particle Accelerator Centre

When

10 – 11 a.m., Jan. 19, 2024

Where

Abstract: Muon capture is a nuclear-weak process in which a negatively charged muon, initially in an atomic bound state, is captured by the atomic nucleus, resulting in atomic number reduction by one and emission of a muon neutrino. Thanks to the high momentum transfer involved in the process, it is one of the most promising probes for the yet unobserved neutrinoless double-beta decay. To help the planned muon-capture experiments dedicated to probe this hypothetical decay, reliable theory predictions are of paramount importance.

To this end, I will discuss recent progress in ab initio studies on muon capture in light nuclei, focusing in particular on the ab initio no-core shell model. These systematically improvable calculations are based on nuclear interactions derived from chiral effective field theory. The computed rates are found to be in good agreement with available experimental counterparts, motivating future experimental and theoretical explorations in light nuclei.

Zoom: Topic: PNuT Seminar

Time: Jan 19, 2024 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://arizona.zoom.us/j/81696277768

Bio:

Lotta Jokiniemi is a postdoctoral researcher at TRIUMF, Canada's particle accelerator centre. Her research focuses on theoretical nuclear physics. She is particularly interested in neutrinoless double-beta decay – a hypothetical radioactive decay that would prove the existence of physics beyond our current knowledge. Currently she is studying muon capture on nuclei with ab initio nuclear techniques to shed light on the as yet unobserved decay. She is also a member of the MONUMENT experimental muon-capture collaboration. She obtained her PhD in physics from the from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 2020. Before moving to Canada, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona, Spain.