Frontier of Materials, Life and Elementary Particles Science explored by Ultra Slow Muon Microscope

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Frontier of Materials, Life and Elementary Particle Science Explored by Ultra Slow Muon Microscope
• Project/Area Number: 23108001
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Science and Engineering
• Research Institution: University of Yamanashi
• Principal Investigator: TORIKAI Eiko 山梨大学, 総合研究部, 教授 (20188832)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MIYAKE Yasuhiro 大学共同利用機関法人高エネルギー加速器研究機構, 物質構造科学研究所, 教授 (80209882) ; KADONO Ryosuke 大学共同利用機関法人高エネルギー加速器研究機構, 物質構造科学研究所, 教授 (10194870) ; IWASAKI Masahiko 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 仁科加速器科学研究センター, 主任研究員 (60183745)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): NISHIDA Nobuhiko 公益財団法人豊田理化学研究所, その他部等, フェロー (50126140) ; AKIMITSU Jun 岡山大学, 特任教授 (80013522) ; SUGIYAMA Jun 豊田中央研究所, 分析部, 主監 (40374087) ; NAGAMINE Kanetada 独立行政法人理化学研究所, 主任研究員研究室等, 客員研究員 (50010947) ; SAITO Naoto 大学共同利用機関法人高エネルギー加速器研究機構, J-PARCセンター, 教授 (20321763)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 超低速ミュオン / スピン / イメージング / 情報発信 / 有機的連携 / 研究人材育成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Ultra Slow Muon can bring breakthroughs in a variety of new fields of science over the wide range from life and materials science to particle physics. We constructed a ultra slow muon microscope (USMM) in J-PARC in early 2013 and planned to apply it to study thin films, near surface and interfaces. In spite of long shutting down of muon beam due to troubles in J-PARC since May 2013, the first ultra slow muons were successfully generated in February 2018, the next day of restarting beam experiment. By preparation and preliminary studies using conventional muon sources and complementary experimental methods as well as theoretical works, we accumulated fundamental data which will strongly help future studies by using USMM. These achievements strongly suggest potential of USMM to promote a science not only in well-known filelds such as magnetism, superconductivity, ion-conductivity of battery materials, but also a new academic field for muon in catalytic chemistry and biology.

Free Research Field

物性物理、ミュオン科学、量子工学