What are the average and transition energies for a muonic hydrogen atom?

The average separation of a muon and a proton in the ground state of a muonic hydrogen atom is found by multiplying the Bohr radius a by a factor of 206.7/1, where 206.7 is the mass of the muon and 1 is the mass of the electron. This gives an average separation of approximately 206.7 times the Bohr radius, or about 4.68 x 10^-11 meters.In summary, the average separation of a muon and proton in the ground state of a muonic hydrogen atom is approximately 4.68 x 10^-11 meters. The minimum and maximum bound state transition energies to the ground state of the system can be determined by multiplying the normal hydrogen
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Average Separation of Muon and Proton

Homework Statement



A muon is a particle with a mass of 206.7 me where me is the electron mass, and with the same charge as an electron. It can be captured in "orbit" by a proton to form a muonic hydrogen atom.
a. Find the average separation <r> of proton and muon in the ground state of the system (in meters).

b. Determine the minimum and maximum bound state transition energies to the ground state of the system, in eV.

Homework Equations



normal hydrogen atom
R10=2a-3/2e-r/a

Y00 = √(1/4pi)
Y01 = √(3/(4pi)cos(θ)
Y1±1 = √(3/(8pi))sinθe^(±iθ)


The Attempt at a Solution



a. For the electron, the average separation would be ∫R10rR10r2dr
Now for the muon, is it simply a plug-in of the Bohr radius a = 4∏ε0[STRIKE]h[/STRIKE]/(206.7*m*e2)?

b. I'm actually not sure how to approach this. Would it be something like doing <Y01|H|Y00>? I could be totally off.

Thanks for any input.
 
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  • #2
(a) is similar to the electron problem, and the distance just scales as the Bohr radius, indeed.
(b) what are the energy levels of the muon?

You don't need any wavefunctions here.
 

1. What is the average separation of a proton?

The average separation of a proton is approximately 1.75 femtometers (fm), which is equivalent to 1.75 x 10^-15 meters.

2. How is the average separation of a proton determined?

The average separation of a proton can be determined through experiments, such as scattering experiments, that measure the distance between protons in a nucleus.

3. Is the average separation of a proton constant?

No, the average separation of a proton can vary depending on the energy and environment of the protons. In some cases, the protons may even merge together, resulting in a smaller average separation.

4. How does the average separation of a proton relate to its size?

The average separation of a proton is a measure of its size, as it reflects the distance between the center of the proton and its outermost point. However, the size of a proton is not a fixed value and can change depending on the energy and environment.

5. Can the average separation of a proton be used to determine the size of an atom?

No, the average separation of a proton is only a measure of the size of an individual proton, not an entire atom. The size of an atom is determined by the collective average separation of all its protons, neutrons, and electrons.

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