Thursday, March 15, 2012

1203.3039 (P. Quémerais et al.)

Possible Quantum Diffusion of Polaronic Muons in Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ Spin
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P. Quémerais, P. McClarty, R. Moessner
We interpret recent measurements of the zero field muon relaxation rate in the frustrated magnetic pyrochlore Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ as resulting from the quantum diffusion of muons in the substance. In this scenario, the plateau observed at low temperature ($<7$ K) in the relaxation rate is due to coherent tunneling of the muons through a spatially disordered spin state and not to any magnetic fluctuations persisting at low temperature. Two further regimes either side of a maximum relaxation rate at $T^* = 50$ K correspond to a crossover between tunnelling and incoherent activated hopping motion of the muon. Our fit of the experimental data is compared with the case of muonium diffusion in KCl.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.3039

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