INHOMOGENEOUS MUONIUM DIFFUSION IN SOLID NITROGEN

The spin dynamics of the muonium (Mu) atom diffusing quantum mechanica lly in solid nitrogen (s-N-14(2)) has been studied using the technique of Mu spin relaxation. A strong relationship between longitudinal (T1 (-1)) and transverse (T2(-1)) relaxation rates (familiar in NMR) has b een experimentally demonstrated for the first time for muonium relaxat ion. At low temperatures the results are inconsistent with diffusion m odels using a single correlation time tau(c); this is taken as evidenc e for the intrinsic inhomogeneity of the problem. The temperature depe ndence of the average Mu hop rate tau(c)-1 gives clear evidence that M u quantum diffusion in s-N2 is governed by the two-phonon interaction.