Electron wind-induced muon drift in metals

A preliminary experiment was carried out by the present authors in collaboration with R. Keitel to search for electron wind-induced muon drift in copper at liquid helium temperatures. Drift was not observed, which is taken as support of Kondo's theory of nonadiabatic damping of light interstitials in metals. The present paper discusses the possibility of increased current and thinner foils and concludes that it should be possible with a carefully optimized experiment to detect muon drift. Weak longitudinal fields do not appear to offer any advantage over the transverse fields in which the original experiment was performed. It is proposed to look for wind-induced drift through muon trapping. Aluminum with manganese trapping centers offers a favorable opportunity for observing drift in this way.