This volume comprises a collection of invited papers presented at the interna tional symposium "The Future of Muon Physics", May 7-9 1991, at the Ruprecht Karls-Universitat in Heidelberg. In the inspiring atmosphere of the Internationales Wissenschaftsforum researchers working worldwide at universities and at many inter national accelerator centers came together to review the present status of the field and to discuss the future directions in muon physics. The muon, charged lepton of the second generation, was first oberved some sixty years ago~ Despite many efforts since, the reason for its existence still remains a secret to the scientific community challenging both theorists and experimentalists. In modern physics the muon plays a key role in many topics of research. Atomic physics with negative muons provides excellent tests of the theory of quantum electrodynamics and of the electro-weak interaction and probes nuclear properties. The. purely leptonic hydrogen-like muonium atom allows tests of fun damental laws in physics and the determination of precise values for fundamental constants. New measurements of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon will probe the renormalizability of the weak interaction and will be sensitive to physics beyond the standard model. The muon decay is the most carefully studied weak process. Searches for rare decay modes of muons and for the conversion of muonium to antimuonium examine the lepton number conservation laws and new speculative theories. Nuclear muon capture addresses fundamental questions like tests of the CPT theorem.

"Muon plays an increasingly important role in particle, nuclear, and atomic physics, and in applied research. The muon with the muon neutrino and strange and charm quarks create second generation of the Standard Model particles. Unique properties of muons, including its electric charge, mass, and lack of interaction via strong force made this particle a unique tool for discoveries of new elementary particles, including the Higgs boson, over last half a century. The prompt (by cascade transitions) and delayed (by weak muon capture) fission of heavy nuclei in muonic atoms became an important aspect of research. Use of muons as a probe particle to study various solid state samples recently developed in a separate branch of science. Muons can be used in the cold fusion for efficient energy production in the future. The studies of the processes beyond the Standard Model, the proton radius puzzle, the rare decays of the muon and its conversion into an electron and muonium into antimuonium, and hints of a difference in the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon from predicted by the Standard Model, have become hot research topics. Muons are proposed to be used in accelerators providing ultra high intensity neutrino beams which will be used for studies of neutrinos, including their oscillations, which could shed a light on matter-antimatter universe asymmetry as well as for "Higgs factories" where a large number of Higgs bosons can be produced for in depth understanding of this recently discovered particle. This book describes various aspects of modern physics involving muons"--

Muons are unstable elementary particles that are found in space, which can also be produced in particle accelerators to an intensity a billion times greater than that occurring naturally. This book describes the various applications of muons across the spectrum of the sciences and engineering. Scientific research using muons relies both on their basic properties as well as the microscopic interaction between them and surrounding particles such as nuclei, electrons, atoms and molecules. Examples of research that can be carried out using muons include muon catalysis for nuclear fusion, the application of muon spin probes to study microscopic magnetic properties of advanced materials, electron labelling to help in the understanding of electron transfer in proteins, and non-destructive element analysis of the human body. Cosmic ray muons can also be used to study the inner structure of volcanoes.

"Muon plays an increasingly important role in particle, nuclear, and atomic physics, and in applied research. The muon with the muon neutrino and strange and charm quarks create second generation of the Standard Model particles. Unique properties of muons, including its electric charge, mass, and lack of interaction via strong force made this particle a unique tool for discoveries of new elementary particles, including the Higgs boson, over last half a century. The prompt (by cascade transitions) and delayed (by weak muon capture) fission of heavy nuclei in muonic atoms became an important aspect of research. Use of muons as a probe particle to study various solid state samples recently developed in a separate branch of science. Muons can be used in the cold fusion for efficient energy production in the future. The studies of the processes beyond the Standard Model, the proton radius puzzle, the rare decays of the muon and its conversion into an electron and muonium into antimuonium, and hints of a difference in the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon from predicted by the Standard Model, have become hot research topics. Muons are proposed to be used in accelerators providing ultra high intensity neutrino beams which will be used for studies of neutrinos, including their oscillations, which could shed a light on matter-antimatter universe asymmetry as well as for "Higgs factories" where a large number of Higgs bosons can be produced for in depth understanding of this recently discovered particle. This book describes various aspects of modern physics involving muons"--