Abstract
The energy difference between orthopositronium and parapositronium in the ground state, which is called the hyperfine structure separation , has been determined in an experiment similar to that of Deutsch, Brown, and Weinstein. The frequency difference between the and the Zeeman levels of orthopositronium was measured in a static magnetic field of 8000 gauss at which it is about 2460 Mc/sec. A resonance curve was taken with fixed frequency by varying the magnetic field, and an observed fractional line width, , of about 4.5× was obtained. The principal part of the line width (3.6×) is due to the annihilation lifetime of positronium; microwave power broadening and magnetic field inhomogeneity account for the remainder. No Doppler broadening is present despite the high velocity of the positronium atoms, because the mean free path of a positronium atom in the gas is small compared to the wavelength of the microwave radiation. The value of was computed from the observed values of the frequency and magnetic field at resonance by use of the Breit-Rabi formula to give the result: Mc/sec. The error quoted is 5 times the statistical error and is believed to represent an upper limit to possible systematic errors. The value agrees with the values of Deutsch et al. of (2.0338±0.0004)× Mc/sec and (2.0335±0.0005)× Mc/sec, obtained with fields of 9500 and 9000 gauss, respectively, and hence confirms the use of the Breit-Rabi formula. The experimental values agree with the theoretical value for of 2.0337× Mc/sec computed to order ry by Karplus and Klein.
- Received 4 February 1957
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.106.934
©1957 American Physical Society