Playing quantum hide-and-seek with the muon: localizing muon stopping sites

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in determining muon stopping sites in solids using electronic structure calculations, addressing a key limitation in muon-spin relaxation experiments.

Contribution

It highlights the application of electronic structure methods to accurately locate muon sites and understand their quantum states in various materials.

Findings

Successful characterization of muon sites in insulating fluorides

Identification of muon states in pnictide superconductors

Localization of muons in ZnO

Abstract

One of the most fundamental limitations of a muon-spin relaxation experiment can be the lack of knowledge of the implantation site of the muon and the uncertainty about the muon's perturbation of its host. Here we review some of the work done on the `muon site problem' in the solid state and highlight some recent applications of electronic structure calculations that have successfully characterized the quantum states of muons in a number of insulating compounds containing fluorine, in a number of pnictide superconductors, and in ZnO.