New RIKEN-RAL pulsed µCF facility and X-ray studies on DT-µCF

In November 1994, the construction of a new superconducting muon channel of the RIKEN-RAL muon facility at ISIS of Rutherford Appleton Laboratory was completed. Subsequently, important features, such as the highest instantaneous intensity with a single-pulse structure and a high purity have been confirmed. Along with the installation of advanced µCF experimental equipment, including a high-purity D-T mixture target system with an in situ³He removal capability and a 4 T confinement magnet, an advanced µCF experiment, e.g. a precise X-ray measurement on µ- sticking in dtµ-µCF will be realized. An account of the commissioning experiments, a plan for the earliest phase of the µCF experiment and possible future directions are reported.     

Interaction of paramagnetic electron with highT c supercurrent in LaSrCuO studied by (μ−O) probe

The paramagnetic state of the muonic atom formed by the negative muon ( ^–) bound to the oxygen in highT _c LaSrCuO which was found in our recent ^– spin rotation experiments was applied to probe an interaction between the paramagnetic electron and the highT _c supercurrent. The observed enhanced spin relaxation rates of the ( ^–O) system in the superconducting state revealed the presence of such an interaction.     

Muon spin resonance by strong pulsed r.f. field with pulsed muons

Muon spin resonance experiments have been performed for the ⁺ in H₂O and for some other cases, and the first observation has been made of the time-differential pattern of muon spin resonance, namely, spin precession around the r.f. field vector under various resonance conditions. In the present experiment, a high-power pulsed r.f. field was effectively applied to the pulsed muon beam in our laboratory of the KEK-Booster Meson Facility (BOOM). Potential uses of muon spin resonance, particularly for research in the border regions of solid state and nuclear physics, are discussed in comparison with the conventional spin rotation method.     

Negative muon spin rotation in solids

Experimental advances in solid state physics research using polarized negative muons (in the ground state of muonic atoms) are reviewed. The main subject is studies of ^– hyperfine interactions in magnetic materials. Basic principles and distinctive features of the ^–SR method are also presented, and possible future developments are briefly discussed.     

Behavior of positive muons in highT c superconductors La2−x Sr x CuO4

An unambiguous determination of the ⁺ location in the highT _c LaSrCuO superconductor is made through zero-field spin relaxation in the paramagnetic phase and its crystal axis dependence by using single crystalline samples. The temperature dependence of the relaxation rates has a maximum between 80 and 150 K, indicating the existence of the onset of quantum diffusion at low temperature.     

Local hyperfine field vector of positive muon in mono-domain single crystal of antiferromagnetic La2CuO4

By using a monodomain single crystal La₂CuO₄ grown by the travelling solvent floating zone method, the strength and direction of the local hyperfine field vector at positive muon sites were determined. Combining with the ⁺ location determined separately, we found the importance of the local hyperfine field contributions with dipolar symmetry as well as the distant dipolar field from surrounding point dipoles of Cu atomic moments.     

Coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism in single crystalline highT c superconductor La2−x Sr x CuO4 revealed by the muon spin relaxation method

The positive muon (⁺) spin relaxation method under zero external field is applied to probe magnetic ordering in the superconducting phase of a high quality single crystal of La_2–x Sr _x CuO₄ (0.10<x<0.15). A series of well characterized crystals with nearly complete flux exclusion were found to exhibit a magnetic ordering with transition temperature depending onx with a peak atx=0.11. Possible explanations are given.     

Probing Electron Transfer in DNA – New Life Science with Muons

Using the method of labelled electrons with muons which was first applied to conducting polymers and recently extended to representative electron-transfer proteins, electron transfer phenomena in DNA were successfully studied, for the first time microscopically. The characteristic dependence of muon spin relaxation on inverse magnetic field between 80 and 4000 G strongly suggests an existence of topological one-dimensional (1D) electron transfer along the DNA strands in both A- and B-forms. The low-field behavior, on the other hand, showed remarkable dependence on the molecular conformations. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.