Paramagnetic rare earth oxide Nd2O3 investigated by muon spin spectroscopy

In the context of a systematic study of oxide materials with the muon spin spectroscopy amp; 956;SR technique, we report here on an investigation of paramagnetic Nd2O3. The question was whether the magnetism of Nd3 has an influence on the observed signals. In Nd2O3, as in the other oxides, a weakly paramagnetic component is observed besides the pure diamagnetic fraction. The paramagnetic part is assigned to a transient state formed between the initial atomic and the final bound muonium configuration. In addition, a fast relaxing signal amp; 955; amp; 8764; 7 amp; 956;s amp; 8722;1 with 10 to 20 fraction is seen in longitudinal field. Contrary to this general behavior of the oxide materials, in the present magnetic compound, a resonancelike structure is seen in the temperature range around 40 K.We assign it tentatively to a dynamical process related to the population of the first excited Kramers doublet of the Nd3 ion at 2.6 me