Muon motion in pure and weakly doped aluminium

The authors have studied the diffusion and localization of positive muons in pure and weakly doped aluminium, in the temperature range 30 mK-100K, by measuring the damping parameter of the muon spin rotation ( mu SR) signal. In this paper they discuss some of their recent results and draw the following conclusions: i) in pure Al, positive muons are delocalized in band states (coherent motion); ii) in Al doped with 5-70 ppm Mn, the temperature, concentration and field dependences of the damping parameter suggest diffusion or capture limited trapping to octahedral interstitial sites in the aluminium lattice below 1K; iii) above 2K a two-state diffusion-trapping model explains well the peak in the damping parameter, which appears at 15-50K for the dopants Mn, Mg, Li and Ag so far studied. (11 refs).