Direct search for orthopositronium decay into two photons

S. Asai, S. Orito, T. Sanuki, M. Yasuda, T. Yokoi
1991 Physical Review Letters  
We have performed the first direct search for orthopositronium decay into two photons in order to determine if this decay, forbidden by space-rotational invariance, is the cause of the reported discrepancy in the orthopositronium decay rate. A high-resolution measurement of the photon-energy spectrum by a germanium detector was used to discriminate the expected sharp peak of the two-photon decay from the broader peak of the pickoA annihilations. No evidence of such decay is observed, resulting
more » ... n an upper limit on the branching ratio of 3.5x10, a factor of 6 below the level that could explain the decay-rate discrepancy.
doi:10.1103/physrevlett.66.1298 pmid:10043170 fatcat:6tgafhtjlnastnubnyv6gmpcei