Role of friction in tunnelling motion

Abstract

One of the most interesting recent topics in condensed matter physics concerns the quantum tunnelling phenomena at low temperatures in the presence of dissipation. Such studies can be made of the motion of light interstitials (μ⁺ or H, for instance) in metals, with the aid of muon spin rotation and neutron scattering techniques. In this paper, the present status of the subject will be reviewed. Next, the utility of Mossbauer spectroscopy in analyzing a similar situation, viz. the motion of a reaction coordinate coupled to a dissipative bath, as in biological molecules, will be indicated.