Overview of the Muon Scattering Experiment at PSI

The proton radius puzzle arose in 2010 from the disagreement between the proton charge radius as measured with electron scattering and atomic hydrogen spectroscopy, and that measured with a new method using muonic hydrogen. Inspired by this puzzle, the MUon Scattering Experiment (MUSE) at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen, Switzerland, was introduced to provide new information by simultaneously measuring elastic scattering of electrons and muons of either charge polarity from a liquid hydrogen target. MUSE aims to provide precise cross sections with form factor and radius extraction, while addressing the issues of two photon exchange and lepton universality. An overview of this experiment and current status will be presented.



This material is based upon the work supported by the National Science Foundation under awards PHY-1812402 and PHY-2113436.

The MUSE experiment is supported by the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation (NSF), Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation.