Quantum states of muons in fluorides

Moeller, J.S.; Ceresoli, D.; Lancaster, T.; Marzari, N.; Blundell, S.J.

Abstract

Muon-spin relaxation (μ + SR) is a sensitive probe of magnetism, but its utility can be severely limited by the lack of knowledge of the muon implantation site and the extent to which the muon perturbs its host. We demonstrate systematically that these problems can be addressed accurately using electronic-structure calculations. We show that diamagnetic muons introduce significant short-ranged distortions in ionic insulators that would lead to systematic errors on magnetic moments determined by μ + SR, and quantify these. The F-μ -F complex formed by muons in many fluorides can be understood as an exotic molecule-in-a-crystal defect with a zero-point energy larger than that of any naturally occurring triatomic molecule.

Citation

Moeller, J., Ceresoli, D., Lancaster, T., Marzari, N., & Blundell, S. (2013). Quantum states of muons in fluorides. Physical review B, 87(12), Article 121108. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.87.121108

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Jul 2, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 24, 2014
• Journal: Physical review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
• Print ISSN: 1098-0121
• Electronic ISSN: 1550-235X
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 87
• Issue: 12
• Article Number: 121108
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.87.121108
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1453208