Description of Muon Spin Relaxation, Rotation, Resonance, Research (MuSR) Experimental Technique

This presentation will be an overview of the Muon Spin Research (MuSR) techniques. MuSR utilizes muons in multiple ways. Muons are a pseudo-isotope of hydrogen and are used to study isolated H impurities, particularly in semiconductors. Muons are also used as a probe of magnetism in materials and used to study superconductivity. In MuSR experiments, spin polarized muons are created in particle accelerators and implanted in samples. The muons have a short lifetime and decay into a positron and two neutrinos. The positron decay direction is preferential along the muon spin direction, so the muon spin polarization as a function of time is observed. Properties of the sample are determined from this spin polarization data. Experimental results from a couple materials will also be discussed.