Ionization Energy Losses of RelativisticμMesons in Gases

By means of proportional counters the ionization energy losses in gases of $\mu$ mesons of several high-energy groups have been compared with the loss for mesons at minimum ionization. It is shown that in a normal proportional counter and Geiger counter telescope arrangement as was used in this work, the effects of locally generated showers and counter-wall-generated secondary electrons tend to mask the increase in ionization loss accompanying increasing $\mu$-meson energy. When such effects are considered, the theoretical rise as predicted by the Bethe-Bloch-Williams theory is confirmed.