A New High-intensity, Low-momentum Muon Beam for the Generation of Low-energy Muons at PSI

At the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, Villigen, Switzerland) a new high-intensity muon beam line with momentum p < 40 MeV/c is currently being commissioned. The beam line is especially designed to serve the needs of the low-energy, polarized positive muon source (LE-μ⁺) and LE-μ SR spectrometer at PSI. The beam line replaces the existing μ E4 muon decay channel. A large acceptance is accomplished by installing two solenoidal magnetic lenses close to the muon production target E that is hit by the 590-MeV PSI proton beam. The muons are then transported by standard large aperture quadrupoles and bending magnets to the experiment. Several slit systems and an electrostatic separator allow the control of beam shape, momentum spread, and to reduce the background due to beam positrons or electrons. Particle intensities of up to 3.5 × 10⁸ μ⁺/s and 10⁷ μ⁻/s are expected at 28 MeV/c beam momentum and 1.8 mA proton beam current. This will translate into a LE-μ⁺ rate of 7,000/s being available at the LE-μ SR spectrometer, thus achieving μ⁺ fluxes, that are comparable to standard μ SR facilities.     

Muons on request (MORE): combining advantages of continuous and pulsed muon beams

A technique has been tested for the first time which combines the advantages of continuous and pulsed muon beams, namely high time resolution and low background in time-differential μSR experiments. In addition, the method allows the muon beam to be split and two μSR experiments run simultaneously at full intensity without any interference between the instruments. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Upgrading the PSI Muon Facility

A new project was initiated at PSI to replace the existing μE4 decay channel with a new beam line delivering surface/cloud beams of highest luminosities. This goal will be accomplished by installing a solenoidal lens system at the main production target E and then transporting the muons with conventional beamline elements of very big apertures to a greatly enlarged experimental floor. Several slit systems and an electrostatic separator will be available to control the beam shape and reduce the electrons and other background. Particle fluxes up to 5 × 10⁸ μ⁺/s and 10⁷ μ⁻/s can be expected at 28 MeV/c beam momentum, using the 600 MeV primary proton beam of 1.7 mA. The operation of the channel will be limited to a maximum momentum of 40 MeV/c. The beam line has been specially designed to provide highest flux to the ultra-slow μ⁺ beam (LEM). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Japanese hadron facility plans and future μSR

The proposed next major science project in Japan, the high intensity 1 GeV proton accelerator with unique beam characteristics, is described here. It will supply a proton beam of more than 100 μA in either de mode or sharply pulsed mode (down to 10 ns), using a specially designed time structure conversion ring. The beam will be used for keV μ⁺ generation at the production target, MeV surface μ⁺ production and 10 MeV decay μ⁺ and μ⁻ production, as well as a possible slow μ⁻ production. All of these unique muon beams will be developed for the next generation of μSR experiments. With the development of the keV μ⁺ source particularly in mind, a pilot station is now under construction at UT-MSL/KEK. Possible new μSR experiments are also reviewed.     

Time‐differential radio‐frequency muon spin resonance (TD‐RFμSR) technique at a pulsed muon beam

Longitudinal‐field μSR methods, e.g., radio‐frequency μ⁺ spin resonance (RFμSR), are well suited to investigate dynamic processes that destroy the phase coherence of the muon spin ensemble. Additional information on relaxation processes of the muon species under investigation is obtained from time‐differential (TD) data acquisition. In this paper we describe the set‐up of a TD‐RFμSR spectrometer installed at the ISIS pulsed muon facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL, Chilton, UK). As an example, results of TD‐RFμSR measurements on muons in diamagnetic environment μ^d in a boron‐doped silicon sample under illumination at 55 K are presented. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatial correlation study of internal magnetic fields in magnets by μSR2-technique

It is shown that using position-sensitive detectors in μSR experiments to determine the muon stopping site in a target permits one to study correlation effects in μSR time histograms produced by the decay of muons stopping in the same domain, i.e. to obtain time correlators of μSR histograms of decays from a small region. These correlators contain information on the spatial correlation of magnetic fields in the sample under study. The proposed method (μSR²-technique) allows measuring correlation radii (r _c ) down to 10⁻⁵ cm in a bulk sample. Among interesting physical phenomena occuring overr _c≥3×10⁻⁶ cm are, for instance, long wavelength fluctuations of the order parameter near the phase transition point in ferromagnets and antiferromagnets and magnetic field correlations in magnet domains and spin glasses. One may use this method also on heavy-current accelerators producing pulsed muon beams to investigate the variation in time of spatial correlations in magnets, spin glasses and superconductors.     

Muon facilities at TRIUMF

TRIUMF provides its user community with a wide variety of muon beams for use in μSR and fundamental particle studies. The existing muon channels and their characteristics are described along with a proposed superconducting solenoid to be constructed in 1987.     

μSR at new accelerators

In this paper I speculate upon the potential of muon spin rotation/relaxation/resonance (μSR) for future refinement and/or exploitation at large accelerators like KAON, which might generate muon beams a hundred times more intense than today's best. Several schemes for efficient utilisation of such beams might be well worth implementing on existing muon channels. Work supported by NRC and NSERC.     

Diffusion of positive mouns in copper detected by zero-field μSR

Using the Zero-Field μSR method coupled with the unique pulsed muon beam, new systematic measurements of diffusion (hopping) rate of positive muon were performed for the two ultra-pure copper samples (residual resistivity ratio = 18,000 and 7,350) and for the copper doped with 95 ppm iron. For these measurements a new detection system with an improved time resolution was installed to reduce the distortion of μ-e decay time spectrum due to the counting loss of positrons. A preliminary result suggests that the leveling-off of the hopping rate below 0.5 K is not affected by the purity for the ultra-pure sample, while it is strongly modified for the doped copper.     

Ramsauer–Townsend Effect in Solid Hydrogen

The TRIUMF E742 experiment has measured the energy dependence of the scattering cross-sections of muonic deuterium and tritium on hydrogen molecules for collisions in the energy range 0.1–45 eV. The experimental setup permits the creation of muonic atom (μd or μt) beams. The multilayered target system gives the possibility to choose the type of interactions to study and to isolate a particular interaction. The scattering of μd or μt beams on H₂ is analyzed via the muon transfer reaction to neon. The time-of-flight method is used to measure the scattering cross section as a function of the energy of the muonic atom beam. The results are compared, using Monte Carlo simulations, with theoretical calculations which have been recently performed with high accuracy. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Positive muon data analysis at ISIS

The pulsed surface muon beam of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory is well suited to performing μSR measurements in zero and low magnetic fields with the longitudinal set-up. In this paper we describe our data analysis procedure and the effect of the collimation on the spectra. The determination of the efficiency ratio of the telescopes is discussed. We point out that for some measurements it is important to take into account the muon beam structure properly.     

Muon bonding sites in rare earth orthoferrites

A muon site search has been performed for the RFeO₃ series based on a calculation of dipole fields and assumptions that a μ-0 bond is formed at identical sites in each sample. The site previously identified by Holzschuh et al. /1/ has been verified and additional sites located which together explain all the observed μSR frequencies in the orthoferrites. Effects due to muon motion and covalent contributions to the internal fields are briefly discussed.     

First μ+SR studies on thin films with a new beam of low energy positive muons at energies below 20 keV

At the Paul Scherrer Institute slow positive muons (μ⁺) with nearly 100% polarization and an energy of about 10 eV are generated by moderation of an intense secondary beam of surface muons in an appropriate condensed gas layer. These epithermal muons are used as a source of a tertiary beam of tunable energy between 10 eV and 20 keV. The range of these muons in solids is up to 100 nm which allows the extension of the μ⁺SR techniques (muon spin rotation, relaxation, resonance) to the study of thin films. A basic requirement for the proper interpretation of μ⁺SR results on thin films and multi-layers is the knowledge of the depth distribution of muons in matter. To date, no data are available concerning this topic. Therefore, we investigated the penetration depth of μ⁺ with energies between 8 keV and 16 keV in Cu/SiO₂ samples. The experimental data are in agreement with simulated predictions. Additionally, we present two examples of first applications of low energy μ⁺ in μ⁺SR investigations. We measured the magnetic field distribution inside a 500-nm thin High-T_C superconductor (YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ), as well as the depth dependence of the field distribution near the surface. In another experiment a 500-nm thin sample of Fe-nanoclusters (diameter 2.4(4) nm), embedded in an Ag matrix with a volume concentration of 0.1%, was investigated with transverse field μ⁺SR. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

μSR study of a mixed compound NiC2O4 2⋅(2-methylimidazole)x(H2O)1-x

We examined the muon spin relaxation (μSR) of mixed compounds NiC₂O₄ 2⋅(2-methylimidazole)_x(H₂O)_1-x with x=1.0 and 0.49. Although the macroscopic magnetic properties are obviously different from each other, both systems exhibit similar behavior in the muon spin relaxation. In addition, in the x=0.49 (SG) sample, a critical slowing down of spin dynamics was not observed in this μSR measurement, though the spin-glass like freezing was observed in the susceptibility measurements. Qualitative explanation of these anomalous observations is given. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Temperature dependence of the muon Knight shift in graphite measured using a μSR\times 2 method

We describe a simple method by which time differential μSR spectra are collected on two different samples simultaneously. One application is to make accurate measurements of the muon precession frequency in a sample relative to a reference. As an example we report precise measurements of the muon Knight shift on HOPG graphite with H parallel to \hat c as a function of temperature. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The positive muon as a probe in magnetism

The special features of the Muon Spin Rotation (μSR) method for investigation of magnetic materials are discussed. The positive muon is a probe which is very sensitive to small magnetic fields at the interstitial site where the muon comes to rest. Some of the basic aspects of μSR and examples of its application in magnetic studies are presented.     

μSR studies on CeAl2

μSR studies on REAl₂ type compounds have so far given rather inconclusive results since no μSR frequency has been observed in the ordered magnetic states. Therefore, the results from the paramagnetic region [1,2] have been interpreted without detailed knowledge of the muon site or the mobility of the muons. In the present study of a single crystal sample of CeAl₂ we investigated in some detail the paramagnetic temperature range including the transition region to magnetic ordering around 3.6 K. The ordered magnetic state is antiferromagnetic with a modulated structure [3], and the absence of a spontaneous μSR precession signal belowT _N is therefore not unexpected.     

Accelerator plans at TRIUMF

A recently completed Project Definition Study has proposed a network of accelerators to take the existing 500 MeV 150 μA proton beam at TRIUMF to 30 GeV. This facility would be capable of providing beams of kaons, antiprotons and other hadrons of intensities 100 times greater than those presently available. In addition, large numbers of low energy muons should be available and this facility is potentially the most powerful muon source planned for the future. The proposed facilities are described and the potential for future muon beams reported.     

Longitudinal field muon spin relaxation (LF-μSR) measurements and evidence for a new muonium defect site in type Ia diamond

A new configuration for muonium, with hyperfine interaction parameters of less than axial symmetry, in nitrogen rich diamond is identified in Longitudinal Field Muon Spin Relaxation (LF-μSR) measurements. The TF-μSR measurements on the same sample show that almost the entire strength of the new configuration is accounted for by a “missing fraction”, typically seen in nitrogen rich type Ia diamond. The “missing fraction” is therefore the result of a T2 relaxation. This is consistent with muon trapping at or in some nitrogen related defect(s) followed by electron capture at random times. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

μ–H Interaction in Hydrogen Bonding Systems

Muon spin rotation (μSR) experiments were performed on single crystal samples of KH₂PO₄(KDP) and KD₂PO₄(dKDP) to study the dynamics of hydrogen in hydrogen bonding systems. At low temperature, the nuclear dipole interaction of muon and proton was confirmed from the angular dependence of precession frequency of the muon spin under zero magnetic field. The muon occupation site was also determined. A clear change in μSR spectra was observed at the antiferroelectric transition temperature (123 K). At 90 K well below the transition temperature, the muon spin starts to relax, possibly due to muon dynamics. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.