Experimental evidence for a Mott-Wigner glass phase of magnetite above the Verwey temperature

New muon-spin-relaxation (μSR) results on magnetite are reported and discussed in light of earlier Moessbauer, neutron, and μSR results. Modification of the μSR anomaly (observed at 247 K in zero field), when an external magnetic field is applied, provides evidence that the anomaly results from cross relaxation between the muon Larmor precession and the electron-correlation process in the B sublattice. The combined results strongly indicate that phonon-assisted electron hopping is the principal conduction mechanism above the Verwey transition temperature (T/sub V/). Together with theoretical evidence, these data support Mott's suggestion that above T/sub V/ magnetite is in the Wigner-glass state