Abstract
We find, for a rather broad set of two-, three-, and four-parameter charge-density functions, that a particular muonic-atom transition energy determines a particular moment of the nuclear charge density, . The exponent depends on the atomic number and on the quantum numbers of the pair of states in question, but it depends only very weakly on the mathematical form of the charge-density function. Consequently, an almost model-independent analysis of muonic-atom energies is possible. This analysis is facilitated by introduction of the equivalent radius , defined by . For , a range of moments from to is provided by available data. The transition in lead, for example, measures the moment and determines F, where is the transition energy in MeV. For this transition, as well a for several others, is approximately a linear function of .
- Received 10 March 1969
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.185.1429
©1969 American Physical Society