High pressure research using muons at the Paul Scherrer Institute

TL;DR

This paper reviews the use of muon spin rotation/relaxation (muSR) techniques under high pressure at PSI, highlighting experimental challenges, facility capabilities, and recent scientific results in condensed matter physics.

Contribution

It introduces the high-pressure muon facility at PSI and discusses its application in probing materials under pressure with muSR, advancing experimental capabilities.

Findings

Successful implementation of muSR under high pressure conditions.

Identification of pressure-induced phase transitions in materials.

Enhanced understanding of microscopic interactions under pressure.

Abstract

Pressure, together with temperature and magnetic field, is an important thermodynamical parameter in physics. Investigating the response of a compound or of a material to pressure allows to elucidate ground states, investigate their interplay and interactions and determine microscopic parameters. Pressure tuning is used to establish phase diagrams, study phase transitions and identify critical points. Muon spin rotation/relaxation (muSR) is now a standard technique making increasing significant contribution in condensed matter physics, material science research and other fields. In this review, we will discuss specific requirements and challenges to perform muSR experiments under pressure, introduce the high-pressure muon facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, Switzerland) and present selected results obtained by combining the sensitivity of the muSR technique with pressure.