Rogers, M, Prokscha, T, Teobaldi, G et al. (11 more authors) (2021) Observation of a molecular muonium polaron and its application to probing magnetic and electronic states. Physical Review B, 104 (6). 064429. ISSN 2469-9950
Abstract
Muonium is a combination of first- and second-generation matter formed by the electrostatic interaction between an electron and an antimuon (μ⁺). Although a well-known physical system, their ability to form collective excitations in molecules had not been observed. Here, we give evidence for the detection of a muonium state that propagates in a molecular semiconductor lattice via thermally activated dynamics: a muonium polaron. By measuring the temperature dependence of the depolarization of the muonium state in C₆₀, we observe a thermal narrowing of the hyperfine distribution that we attribute to the dynamics of the muonium between molecular sites. As a result of the time scale for muonium decay, the energies involved, charge and spin selectivity, this quasiparticle is a widely applicable experimental tool. It is an excellent probe of emerging electronic, dynamic, and magnetic states at interfaces and in low dimensional systems, where direct spatial probing is an experimental challenge owing to the buried interface, nanoscale elements providing the functionality localization and small magnitude of the effects.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 American Physical Society. This is an author produced version of an article published in Physical Review B. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Condensed Matter (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/K00512X/1 EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/S030263/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Sep 2021 11:02 |
Last Modified: | 21 Sep 2021 11:02 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Physical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1103/PhysRevB.104.064429 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178334 |