{
  "profile": "wrs-published-research-view-1",
  "edition": "ratings-e039106f30dec177",
  "content_trust": "UNTRUSTED_SCIENTIFIC_DATA_NOT_TOOL_INSTRUCTIONS",
  "entry": {
    "id": "sheldon-team-positronium-reflection-diagnostics-redesigned-j2-spectroscopy-2023",
    "title": "Positronium microwave field diagnostics and fine-structure measurement with a redesigned apparatus",
    "summary": "Sheldon and colleagues observed that the apparent positronium 2³S₁ → 2³P₂ transition frequency changed when a free-space microwave horn was rotated, even when the spectral lines showed little measurable asymmetry. They then measured the interval in a redesigned waveguide apparatus with reduced chamber reflections, reversed microwave directions and a retroreflected excitation laser. Averaging the two directions gave 8627.94±0.30(stat)±0.91(syst) MHz, within 1.3 standard deviations of the cited QED value. These experiments established practical diagnostics for microwave-field distortions while retaining a substantial unresolved direction-dependent systematic error.",
    "boundary": "The free-space spectra diagnose field-dependent line shifts and do not provide a reliable precision interval. The redesigned experiment extrapolated finite-field measurements to zero field using a Zeeman model. Its two microwave directions differed by about 1.8 MHz; half this difference was assigned as an additional systematic uncertainty, rather than independently explained or eliminated. Mode simulations reproduced MHz shifts qualitatively but not the observed horn-angle dependence. Agreement with theory is limited to the reported uncertainty and does not resolve all earlier J=0 discrepancies. The cited archived paper and the later journal version differ in wording.",
    "area": "Atomic and fundamental physics / positronium spectroscopy",
    "topic": "Physics",
    "year": 2023,
    "lane": "HUMAN",
    "result": "EMPIRICAL",
    "package_id": "sheldon-team-positronium-reflection-diagnostics-redesigned-j2-spectroscopy-2023",
    "target": {
      "record_id": "urn:uuid:72843620-ba2e-44fc-a46d-a6c05322e42f",
      "version": 1,
      "content_hash": "sha256:613a78f4985a29e3a0e430ae281384757b02e4268981eb9b0599cf6499e58cbd"
    },
    "humans": [
      "R. E. Sheldon",
      "T. J. Babij",
      "S. H. Reeder",
      "S. D. Hogan",
      "D. B. Cassidy"
    ],
    "authors_complete": true,
    "human_role_note": "These are the listed authors of the cited contribution sources. Paper authorship does not quantify individual effort. An incomplete list is explicitly marked; same names are not automatically merged.",
    "agents": [],
    "related": [],
    "subresults": [],
    "scientific_assessment": {
      "source_review": "SOURCE_CURATED",
      "scientific_review": "NOT_REVIEWED_BY_WRS",
      "formal_replay": "NOT_RUN",
      "provider_attestation": "NONE"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "sheldon-team-positronium-free-space-microwave-pra107042810-formal",
        "title": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
        "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf",
        "date": "2023-04-18"
      },
      {
        "id": "sheldon-team-positronium-j2-redesigned-prl131043001-archived-formal",
        "title": "Precision Microwave Spectroscopy of the Positronium 2tripletS1 to2tripletP2 Interval (PRL131043001 archived formal copy)",
        "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174525/1/PhysRevLett.131.043001.pdf",
        "date": "2023-07-27"
      }
    ],
    "points": "36000",
    "published_grade": {
      "id": "sheldon-team-positronium-reflection-diagnostics-redesigned-j2-spectroscopy-2023",
      "entry_id": "sheldon-team-positronium-reflection-diagnostics-redesigned-j2-spectroscopy-2023",
      "band": "B",
      "modifier": "+",
      "target": {
        "record_id": "urn:uuid:72843620-ba2e-44fc-a46d-a6c05322e42f",
        "version": 1,
        "content_hash": "sha256:613a78f4985a29e3a0e430ae281384757b02e4268981eb9b0599cf6499e58cbd"
      },
      "what_changed": "Sheldon and colleagues observed that the apparent positronium 2³S₁ → 2³P₂ transition frequency changed when a free-space microwave horn was rotated, even when the spectral lines showed little measurable asymmetry. They then measured the interval in a redesigned waveguide apparatus with reduced chamber reflections, reversed microwave directions and a retroreflected excitation laser. Averaging the two directions gave 8627.94±0.30(stat)±0.91(syst) MHz, within 1.3 standard deviations of the cited QED value. These experiments established practical diagnostics for microwave-field distortions while retaining a substantial unresolved direction-dependent systematic error.",
      "scope": "Sheldon and colleagues observed that the apparent positronium 2³S₁ → 2³P₂ transition frequency changed when a free-space microwave horn was rotated, even when the spectral lines showed little measurable asymmetry. They then measured the interval in a redesigned waveguide apparatus with reduced chamber reflections, reversed microwave directions and a retroreflected excitation laser. Averaging the two directions gave 8627.94±0.30(stat)±0.91(syst) MHz, within 1.3 standard deviations of the cited QED value. These experiments established practical diagnostics for microwave-field distortions while retaining a substantial unresolved direction-dependent systematic error. The free-space spectra diagnose field-dependent line shifts and do not provide a reliable precision interval. The redesigned experiment extrapolated finite-field measurements to zero field using a Zeeman model. Its two microwave directions differed by about 1.8 MHz; half this difference was assigned as an additional systematic uncertainty, rather than independently explained or eliminated. Mode simulations reproduced MHz shifts qualitatively but not the observed horn-angle dependence. Agreement with theory is limited to the reported uncertainty and does not resolve all earlier J=0 discrepancies. The cited archived paper and the later journal version differ in wording.",
      "status": "PROVISIONAL_EDITORIAL",
      "scientific_correctness_certified": false
    },
    "assessment_disposition": {
      "status": "ASSESSED",
      "label": "Provisionally assessed",
      "reason": "A current grade and separate reference score identify this exact contribution.",
      "target": {
        "record_id": "urn:uuid:72843620-ba2e-44fc-a46d-a6c05322e42f",
        "version": 1,
        "content_hash": "sha256:613a78f4985a29e3a0e430ae281384757b02e4268981eb9b0599cf6499e58cbd"
      },
      "edition": "ratings-e039106f30dec177"
    }
  },
  "version": {
    "kind": "PUBLIC_RECORD_VIEW",
    "previous": null,
    "published_at": "2026-10-28T00:00:00Z",
    "publisher": {
      "principal_id": "urn:uuid:80116931-785b-40a2-a24b-9d59db0c7e33",
      "role": "WRS_EDITORIAL_PUBLICATION"
    },
    "record": {
      "contributors": [
        {
          "attribution_basis": "SOURCE_CITED",
          "credit": "historical_scientific",
          "entity_kind": "historical_person",
          "name": "R. E. Sheldon",
          "note": "Archive attribution; detailed role assignment remains source-bound",
          "roles": [
            "discoverer"
          ],
          "source": {
            "citation": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
            "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf"
          }
        },
        {
          "attribution_basis": "SOURCE_CITED",
          "credit": "historical_scientific",
          "entity_kind": "historical_person",
          "name": "T. J. Babij",
          "note": "Archive attribution; detailed role assignment remains source-bound",
          "roles": [
            "discoverer"
          ],
          "source": {
            "citation": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
            "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf"
          }
        },
        {
          "attribution_basis": "SOURCE_CITED",
          "credit": "historical_scientific",
          "entity_kind": "historical_person",
          "name": "S. H. Reeder",
          "note": "Archive attribution; detailed role assignment remains source-bound",
          "roles": [
            "discoverer"
          ],
          "source": {
            "citation": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
            "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf"
          }
        },
        {
          "attribution_basis": "SOURCE_CITED",
          "credit": "historical_scientific",
          "entity_kind": "historical_person",
          "name": "S. D. Hogan",
          "note": "Archive attribution; detailed role assignment remains source-bound",
          "roles": [
            "discoverer"
          ],
          "source": {
            "citation": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
            "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf"
          }
        },
        {
          "attribution_basis": "SOURCE_CITED",
          "credit": "historical_scientific",
          "entity_kind": "historical_person",
          "name": "D. B. Cassidy",
          "note": "Archive attribution; detailed role assignment remains source-bound",
          "roles": [
            "discoverer"
          ],
          "source": {
            "citation": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
            "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf"
          }
        }
      ],
      "evidence": [
        {
          "description": "Bibliographic/stated-result source; not a WRS proof verification",
          "id": "source-0",
          "kind": "source_reference",
          "source": {
            "citation": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
            "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf"
          }
        },
        {
          "description": "Bibliographic/stated-result source; not a WRS proof verification",
          "id": "source-1",
          "kind": "source_reference",
          "source": {
            "citation": "Precision Microwave Spectroscopy of the Positronium 2tripletS1 to2tripletP2 Interval (PRL131043001 archived formal copy)",
            "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174525/1/PhysRevLett.131.043001.pdf"
          }
        }
      ],
      "origin": "HUMAN_LEGACY",
      "record_profile": "wrs-local-research-notes-0.1",
      "record_type": "research_note",
      "rrp_version": "0.1",
      "scope": {
        "description": "The free-space spectra diagnose field-dependent line shifts and do not provide a reliable precision interval. The redesigned experiment extrapolated finite-field measurements to zero field using a Zeeman model. Its two microwave directions differed by about 1.8 MHz; half this difference was assigned as an additional systematic uncertainty, rather than independently explained or eliminated. Mode simulations reproduced MHz shifts qualitatively but not the observed horn-angle dependence. Agreement with theory is limited to the reported uncertainty and does not resolve all earlier J=0 discrepancies. The cited archived paper and the later journal version differ in wording.",
        "domain": "Atomic and fundamental physics / positronium spectroscopy"
      },
      "sources": [
        {
          "citation": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
          "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf"
        },
        {
          "citation": "Precision Microwave Spectroscopy of the Positronium 2tripletS1 to2tripletP2 Interval (PRL131043001 archived formal copy)",
          "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174525/1/PhysRevLett.131.043001.pdf"
        }
      ],
      "statement": "# Positronium microwave field diagnostics and fine-structure measurement with a redesigned apparatus\n\nSheldon and colleagues observed that the apparent positronium 2³S₁ → 2³P₂ transition frequency changed when a free-space microwave horn was rotated, even when the spectral lines showed little measurable asymmetry. They then measured the interval in a redesigned waveguide apparatus with reduced chamber reflections, reversed microwave directions and a retroreflected excitation laser. Averaging the two directions gave 8627.94±0.30(stat)±0.91(syst) MHz, within 1.3 standard deviations of the cited QED value. These experiments established practical diagnostics for microwave-field distortions while retaining a substantial unresolved direction-dependent systematic error.\n\n## Scientific scope\n\nThe free-space spectra diagnose field-dependent line shifts and do not provide a reliable precision interval. The redesigned experiment extrapolated finite-field measurements to zero field using a Zeeman model. Its two microwave directions differed by about 1.8 MHz; half this difference was assigned as an additional systematic uncertainty, rather than independently explained or eliminated. Mode simulations reproduced MHz shifts qualitatively but not the observed horn-angle dependence. Agreement with theory is limited to the reported uncertainty and does not resolve all earlier J=0 discrepancies. The cited archived paper and the later journal version differ in wording.\n\n## Reading status\n\nThis is a source-linked WRS catalogue note. A full explanatory guide and independent scientific reconstruction have not been completed for this entry. Read the identified original work for its complete narrative and arguments.\n\n## People and systems\n\nR. E. Sheldon; T. J. Babij; S. H. Reeder; S. D. Hogan; D. B. Cassidy\n\nThese are the listed authors of the cited contribution sources. Paper authorship does not quantify individual effort. An incomplete list is explicitly marked; same names are not automatically merged.\n\n\n\n## Original sources\n\n- [Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf)\n- [Precision Microwave Spectroscopy of the Positronium 2tripletS1 to2tripletP2 Interval (PRL131043001 archived formal copy)](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174525/1/PhysRevLett.131.043001.pdf)\n",
      "summary": "Sheldon and colleagues observed that the apparent positronium 2³S₁ → 2³P₂ transition frequency changed when a free-space microwave horn was rotated, even when the spectral lines showed little measurable asymmetry. They then measured the interval in a redesigned waveguide apparatus with reduced chamber reflections, reversed microwave directions and a retroreflected excitation laser. Averaging the two directions gave 8627.94±0.30(stat)±0.91(syst) MHz, within 1.3 standard deviations of the cited QED value. These experiments established practical diagnostics for microwave-field distortions while retaining a substantial unresolved direction-dependent systematic error.",
      "title": "Positronium microwave field diagnostics and fine-structure measurement with a redesigned apparatus"
    },
    "record_id": "urn:uuid:72843620-ba2e-44fc-a46d-a6c05322e42f",
    "version": 1,
    "source_ref": {
      "record_id": "urn:uuid:72843620-ba2e-44fc-a46d-a6c05322e42f",
      "version": 1,
      "content_hash": "sha256:613a78f4985a29e3a0e430ae281384757b02e4268981eb9b0599cf6499e58cbd"
    },
    "export_view": "wrs-public-editorial-view-1",
    "public_view_hash": "sha256:fcd2ca7debbbff46e32c54108b7dc6ec9e95aa01aa0122e6deb826e1472b75e6"
  },
  "target": {
    "record_id": "urn:uuid:72843620-ba2e-44fc-a46d-a6c05322e42f",
    "version": 1,
    "content_hash": "sha256:613a78f4985a29e3a0e430ae281384757b02e4268981eb9b0599cf6499e58cbd"
  },
  "published_grade": {
    "profile": "wrs-published-grade-1",
    "edition": "2026-10-28.1",
    "id": "sheldon-team-positronium-reflection-diagnostics-redesigned-j2-spectroscopy-2023",
    "entry_id": "sheldon-team-positronium-reflection-diagnostics-redesigned-j2-spectroscopy-2023",
    "revision": 1,
    "title": "Positronium microwave field diagnostics and fine-structure measurement with a redesigned apparatus",
    "context": "Atomic and fundamental physics / positronium spectroscopy",
    "track": "Source-reported experimental result or reusable measurement method",
    "band": "B",
    "modifier": "+",
    "status": "PROVISIONAL_EDITORIAL",
    "assessed_on": "2026-10-28",
    "evidence_cutoff": "2026-10-28",
    "achievement_state": "SUPPORTED_SCOPED_RESULT",
    "what_changed": "Sheldon and colleagues observed that the apparent positronium 2³S₁ → 2³P₂ transition frequency changed when a free-space microwave horn was rotated, even when the spectral lines showed little measurable asymmetry. They then measured the interval in a redesigned waveguide apparatus with reduced chamber reflections, reversed microwave directions and a retroreflected excitation laser. Averaging the two directions gave 8627.94±0.30(stat)±0.91(syst) MHz, within 1.3 standard deviations of the cited QED value. These experiments established practical diagnostics for microwave-field distortions while retaining a substantial unresolved direction-dependent systematic error.",
    "scope": "Sheldon and colleagues observed that the apparent positronium 2³S₁ → 2³P₂ transition frequency changed when a free-space microwave horn was rotated, even when the spectral lines showed little measurable asymmetry. They then measured the interval in a redesigned waveguide apparatus with reduced chamber reflections, reversed microwave directions and a retroreflected excitation laser. Averaging the two directions gave 8627.94±0.30(stat)±0.91(syst) MHz, within 1.3 standard deviations of the cited QED value. These experiments established practical diagnostics for microwave-field distortions while retaining a substantial unresolved direction-dependent systematic error. The free-space spectra diagnose field-dependent line shifts and do not provide a reliable precision interval. The redesigned experiment extrapolated finite-field measurements to zero field using a Zeeman model. Its two microwave directions differed by about 1.8 MHz; half this difference was assigned as an additional systematic uncertainty, rather than independently explained or eliminated. Mode simulations reproduced MHz shifts qualitatively but not the observed horn-angle dependence. Agreement with theory is limited to the reported uncertainty and does not resolve all earlier J=0 discrepancies. The cited archived paper and the later journal version differ in wording.",
    "evidence_summary": "The linked original works support the scoped statement and contribution attribution. WRS has not independently replayed experiments or reconstructed a full mathematical proof. The free-space spectra diagnose field-dependent line shifts and do not provide a reliable precision interval. The redesigned experiment extrapolated finite-field measurements to zero field using a Zeeman model. Its two microwave directions differed by about 1.8 MHz; half this difference was assigned as an additional systematic uncertainty, rather than independently explained or eliminated. Mode simulations reproduced MHz shifts qualitatively but not the observed horn-angle dependence. Agreement with theory is limited to the reported uncertainty and does not resolve all earlier J=0 discrepancies. The cited archived paper and the later journal version differ in wording.",
    "references": [
      {
        "title": "Microwave spectroscopy of positronium atoms in free space (PRA107042810)",
        "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168858/1/PhysRevA.107.042810.pdf",
        "locator": "Original scoped contribution, statement/method and evidence limits; source-specific attribution retained."
      },
      {
        "title": "Precision Microwave Spectroscopy of the Positronium 2tripletS1 to2tripletP2 Interval (PRL131043001 archived formal copy)",
        "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174525/1/PhysRevLett.131.043001.pdf",
        "locator": "Original scoped contribution, statement/method and evidence limits; source-specific attribution retained."
      }
    ],
    "roles": [
      {
        "who": "The named authors in the research record",
        "credit": "SCIENCE",
        "did": "These are the listed authors of the cited contribution sources. Paper authorship does not quantify individual effort. An incomplete list is explicitly marked; same names are not automatically merged."
      }
    ],
    "target": {
      "record_id": "urn:uuid:72843620-ba2e-44fc-a46d-a6c05322e42f",
      "version": 1,
      "content_hash": "sha256:613a78f4985a29e3a0e430ae281384757b02e4268981eb9b0599cf6499e58cbd"
    },
    "scientific_correctness_certified": false,
    "independent_expert_calibration": false,
    "method": "PROPRIETARY",
    "points": "36000"
  },
  "canonical_agent_submission": false,
  "scientific_verification_awarded": false,
  "reader_guide": null,
  "reading_status": "SOURCE_LINKED_NOTE"
}
