TY - JOUR
T1 - Observation of a molecular muonium polaron and its application to probing magnetic and electronic states
AU - Rogers, M.
AU - Prokscha, T.
AU - Teobaldi, G.
AU - Liborio, L.
AU - Sturniolo, S.
AU - Poli, E.
AU - Jochym, D.
AU - Stewart, R.
AU - Flokstra, M.
AU - Lee, S.
AU - Ali, M.
AU - Hickey, B.J.
AU - Moorsom, T.
AU - Cespedes, O.
N1 - We thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC UK) for support via Grants No. EP/M000923/1, No. EP/K036408/1, No. EP/I004483/1, No. EP/S031081/1, and No. EP/S030263/1. L.L., S.S., D.J. and G.T. acknowledge also support from STFC-ISIS Neutron and Muon Source and Ada Lovelace Centre at STFC-SCD. We acknowledge use of the ARCHER (via the U.K. Car–Parrinello Consortium, EP/P022618/1 and EP/P022189/2), U.K. Materials and Molecular Modelling Hub (EP/P020194/1), and STFC Scientific Computing Department's SCARF HCP facilities.
We acknowledge support from the Henry Royce Institute. This work was also supported financially through the EPSRC Grant Nos. EP/ P022464/1, and EP/R00661X/1.
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.104.064429
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.104.064429
M3 - Article
SN - 1098-0121
VL - 104
JO - Physical Review. B, Condensed matter and materials physics
JF - Physical Review. B, Condensed matter and materials physics
IS - 6
M1 - 064429
ER -