Observation of a new coherent transient in NMR -- nutational two-pulse stimulated echo in the angular distribution of \gamma-radiation from oriented nuclei

A new coherent transient in pulsed NMR, the two-pulse nutational stimulated echo, is reported for the ferromagnetic system ⁶⁰CoFe using resonant perturbations on the directional emission of anisotropic \gamma-radiation from thermally oriented nuclei. The new spin echo is a result of non-linear nuclear spin dynamics due to large Larmor inhomogeneity active during radiofrequency pulse application. It is made readily observable through the gross detuning between NMR radiofrequency excitation and gamma radiation detection, and inhomogeneity in the Rabi frequency caused by metallic skin-effect. The method of concatenation of perturbation factors in a statistical tensor formalism is quantitatively applied to successfully predict and then fit in detail the experimental time-domain data. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Adiabatic Mixing in the Liquid State

Adiabatic spin inversion has been used in the liquid state very efficiently for decoupling purposes. Here we show that it can also be adapted for spin mixing experiments, such as the TOCSY and clean TOCSY experiment, and is superior to previously employed mixing sequences. The main advantage of adiabatic mixing sequences over the conventional mixing schemes used in liquid state experiments is an extremely low sensitivity to RF field inhomogeneity and miscalibration of theB₁field strength. The method is evaluated experimentally by comparing results obtained with different mixing schemes in the basic 2D TOCSY experiment. In addition to higher reliability, adiabatic mixing provides a sensitivity improvement of ca. 20% as compared to conventional mixing schemes. This is explained by higher signal losses due to RF inhomogeneity in the experiments employing traditional mixing schemes. More significant sensitivity improvements can be expected in situations where RF homogeneity is traditionally poor, for example, in large volume probes and magnetic resonance imaging experiments.     

Microwave frequency modulation in continuous-wave far-infrared ESR utilizing a quasi-optical reflection bridge

We report the development of the frequency-modulation (FM) method for measuring electron spin resonance (ESR) absorption in the 210- to 420GHz frequency range. We demonstrate that using a high-frequency ESR spectrometer without resonating microwave components enables us to overcome technical difficulties associated with the FM method due to nonlinear microwave-elements, without sacrificing spectrometer performance. FM was achieved by modulating the reference oscillator of a 13GHz Phase-Locked Dielectric Resonator Oscillator, and amplifying and frequency-multiplying the resulting millimeter-wave radiation up to 210, 315 and 420GHz. ESR spectra were obtained in reflection mode by a lock-in detection at the fundamental modulation frequency, and also at the second and third harmonic. Sensitivity of the setup was verified by conduction electron spin resonance measurement in KC60.     

Detection and spectral measurement of single photons in communication bands using up-conversion technology

Quantum information systems are commonly operated in conventional communication bands (1310 and 1550 nm) over an optical fiber to take advantage of low transmission loss. However, the detection and spectral measurement of single photons in these communication bands are limited due to high noise and low sensitivity of single photon detectors in the wavelength ranges. To demonstrate high efficiency detection and high sensitivity spectral measurement, we have implemented a single photon detector and a spectrometer based on frequency up-conversion technology. This detector and spectrometer uses a 5-cm periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide and a tunable pump laser around 1550 nm, to convert signal photons around 1310 to 710 nm. The converted photons are then detected by a silicon-based avalanche photodiode (APD). The overall detection efficiency of the single photon detector is as high as 32%, which is three times higher than commercial InGaAs APDs. The sensitivity of the spectrometer is measured to be −126 dBm, which is at least three orders-of-magnitude better than any commercial optical spectrum analyzer in this wavelength range.     

Dissipative curvature fluctuations in bilayer vesicles: Coexistence of pure-bending and hybrid curvature-compression modes

We have studied the relaxation dynamics of shape fluctuations in unilamellar lipid vesicles by neutron spin echo (NSE). The presence of a hybrid curvature-compression mode coexisting with the usual bending one has been revealed in the experimental relaxation functions at high q . Differently to the conventional relaxation ∼ q ³ typical for bending modes, the hybrid mode was found to relax as ∼ q ² , which is compatible with a dissipation mechanism arising from intermonolayer friction. Complementary data obtained from flickering spectroscopy (FS) in giant unilamellar vesicles confirm the existence of both modes coexisting together. By combining NSE and FS data we have depicted the experimental bimodal dispersion diagram, which is found compatible with theoretical predictions for reliable values of the material parameters. From the present data two conventional dynamical methods (NSE and FS) have been shown to be suitable for measuring intermonolayer friction coefficients in bilayer vesicles.     

大口径KDP晶体折射率非均匀性检测

KDP晶体的折射率不均匀性将导致光束的空间分布存在不同程度的相位失配,从而使得三倍频系统的转换效率下降。为了得到KDP晶体折射率非均匀性的高精度检测结果,基于正交偏振干涉法,采用ZYGO MST大口径干涉仪,测量得到了大口径KDP晶体折射率非均匀性分布,其测量精度达到10-7,并通过实验研究了晶体面形对测量结果的影响。对晶体e光折射率非均匀性的高精度检测,为大口径晶体材料生长工艺、加工工艺等改进和提高提供了定量的检测依据。     

Highly efficient beamline and spectrometer for inelastic soft X‐ray scattering at high resolution

The design, construction and commissioning of a beamline and spectrometer for inelastic soft X‐ray scattering at high resolution in a highly efficient system are presented. Based on the energy‐compensation principle of grating dispersion, the design of the monochromator–spectrometer system greatly enhances the efficiency of measurement of inelastic soft X‐rays scattering. Comprising two bendable gratings, the set‐up effectively diminishes the defocus and coma aberrations. At commissioning, this system showed results of spin‐flip, d–d and charge‐transfer excitations of NiO. These results are consistent with published results but exhibit improved spectral resolution and increased efficiency of measurement. The best energy resolution of the set‐up in terms of full width at half‐maximum is 108 meV at an incident photon energy tuned about the Ni L₃‐edge.     

Coherent spin dynamics of electrons and excitons in nanostructures (a review)

The studies of spin phenomena in semiconductor low-dimensional systems have grown into the rapidly developing area of the condensed matter physics: spintronics. The most urgent problems in this area, both fundamental and applied, are the creation of charge carrier spin polarization and its detection, as well as electron spin control by nonmagnetic methods. Here, we present a review of recent achievements in the studies of spin dynamics of electrons, holes, and their complexes in the pump-probe method. The microscopic mechanisms of spin orientation of charge carriers and their complexes by short circularly polarized optical pulses and the formation processes of the spin signals of Faraday and Kerr rotation of the probe pulse polarization plane as well as induced ellipticity are discussed. A special attention is paid to the comparison of theoretical concepts with experimental data obtained on the n-type quantum well and quantum dot array samples.     

阻挫诱导的亚铁磁性Heisenberg系统中的量子相变

利用密度矩阵重整化群(DMRG)方法研究磁性阻挫对一种S=1/2准一维反铁磁自旋链但却具有亚铁磁性的Heisenberg系统基态的影响.计算了单个晶胞的基态能、自旋关联函数以及自旋能隙.研究表明这种Heisenberg自旋系统的基态随着阻挫α的增强将从磁有序相变化到自旋无序相,并且伴随着自旋能隙的出现,量子相变点为α≈0.412.同时线形链上格点间自旋长程关联值的计算结果表明在磁有序区间体系的磁有序性质随着α的增强而减弱,阻挫在0≤α< 关键词： 准一维反铁磁自旋链 亚铁磁性 密度矩阵重整化群 自旋能隙     

A longitudinally detected high-field ESR spectrometer for the measurement of spin-lattice relaxation times

We describe a high-field longitudinally detected electron spin resonance (LOD-ESR) spectrometer operating at 35 and 75 GHz. The lack of resonant microwave circuits facilitates operation at different microwave frequencies without changing the probehead. A very low noise radio frequency detection compensates partially the resulting low sensitivity. The major elements of the LOD-ESR spectrometer are commercially available and may be adapted to usual high frequency spectrometers. The instrument allows field and frequency dependent spin lattice relaxation time (T1) studies. T1 in the range of 2-80 ns can be determined from the phase sensitively detected LOD-ESR spectra. We demonstrate the performance of the apparatus by the measurement of T1 in the normal state of RbC60, an electrically conducting alkaline fulleride polymer.     

Spin relaxation rates of Kondo systems measured by diffuse neutron scattering

A method for the direct measurement of spin relaxation rates of dilute magnetic systems by diffuse scattering of unpolarized neutrons is discussed. The magnetic scattering from the single magnetic impurities results from a difference measurement of doped and undoped sample. To discriminate against the large background from nonmagnetic scattering the choice of special energy windows is necessary for the detection of the magnetic scattering.Neutron scattering experiments were performed on the Kondo system CuFe for concentrations between 600 and 4800 at. ppm Fe and in the temperature range 15 K to 300 K. The measured absolute values and the temperature dependence of the spin relaxation rates, which have been measured for the first time in this experiment, are found to agree well with theoretical calculations by Götze and Schlottmann. This supports the explanation of the Kondo effect as a dynamical phenomenon and is contradictory to the static picture of a quasiparticle as proposed by Heeger.     

窄带高光谱干涉成像的压缩采样复原方法

利用干涉成像光谱仪对目标进行窄带高光谱成像探测具有高光通量、高光谱分辨率和高目标分辨率等优点。按照尼奎斯特定理对窄带光谱干涉信息进行采样存在较大的数据冗余,增加了后期傅里叶变换的数据处理量,影响光谱的复原效率。在分析窄带光谱傅里叶变换特性的基础上,提出了基于滤光片光谱透射率函数的窄带光谱压缩采样方法。引入滤光片参数和混叠参数,可以复原不同精度的窄带光谱信息。配以符合要求的多带通窄带滤光片,可对目标进行压缩采样获取多个谱段的窄带光谱信息,从而避免了逐个谱段探测,提高了探测效率。对该方法进行了仿真分析和实验验证,得到了与目标光谱相吻合的复原窄带光谱。     

Physical Effects of U(1)-Induced Gauge Field and Their Non-Adiabatic Corrections for the Cases with Arbitrary Spin

By making use of the improved Born-Oppenheimer approximate method, we deal with the separation of spin variable and space variable of neutral particle with arbitrary spin in inhomogeneous magnetic field and non-adiabatic corrections for the problems are thereby computed as perturbations. We also analysis the geometrical properties of loop phase of the induced gauge potential and point out its observable effects relating to Bitter and Dubbers'experiment. Finally, we discuss the transitions between the instantaneous spin states as non-adiabatic effects resulting from inhomogeneity of the magnetic field.     

核自旋单重态的制备及其转化效率和寿命的影响因素分析

长寿命核自旋单重态（LLS）因具有寿命较长这一特性而具有广泛的应用前景.本文在一个三肽样品（alanylglycylgcine，AGG）的水溶液中，对结构中离手性碳较远的二自旋体系进行核自旋单重态的制备，并探究了样品浓度、温度、射频发射中心位置、自旋体系之间的J耦合常数，以及磁场不均匀性五个因素对LLS的转化效率及其寿命的影响.实验结果表明，核自旋单重态的转化效率和寿命均不受样品浓度以及磁场不均匀性的影响.寿命会随实验温度的升高不断增加，转化效率随温度的下降而减小.射频中心位置在小范围内变化时，核自旋单重态制备所受影响不明显；但当变化较大时，其转化效率与寿命明显减小.同时，核自旋单重态对J耦合的变化则比较敏感，当J值选择不精准时，转化效率及寿命都出现明显降低.     

Applications of DNP-NMR for the measurement of heteronuclear T1 relaxation times

Measurement of heteronuclear spin-lattice relaxation times is hampered by both low natural abundance and low detection sensitivity. Combined with typically long relaxation times, this results in extended acquisition times which often renders the experiment impractical. Recently a variant of dynamic nuclear polarisation has been demonstrated in which enhanced nuclear spin polarisation, generated in the cryo-solid state, is transferred to the liquid state for detection. Combining this approach with small flip angle pulse trains, similar to the FLASH-T(1) imaging sequence, allows the rapid determination of spin-lattice relaxation times. In this paper we explore this method and its application to the measurement of T(1) for both carbon-13 and nitrogen-15 at natural abundance. The effects of RF inhomogeneity and the influence of proton decoupling in the context of this experiment are also investigated.     

EPR oximetry in three spatial dimensions using sparse spin distribution

A method is presented to use continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance imaging for rapid measurement of oxygen partial pressure in three spatial dimensions. A particulate paramagnetic probe is employed to create a sparse distribution of spins in a volume of interest. Information encoding location and spectral linewidth is collected by varying the spatial orientation and strength of an applied magnetic gradient field. Data processing exploits the spatial sparseness of spins to detect voxels with nonzero spin and to estimate the spectral linewidth for those voxels. The parsimonious representation of spin locations and linewidths permits an order of magnitude reduction in data acquisition time, compared to four-dimensional tomographic reconstruction using traditional spectral-spatial imaging. The proposed oximetry method is experimentally demonstrated for a lithium octa-n-butoxy naphthalocyanine (LiNc–BuO) probe using an L-band EPR spectrometer.     

Evaluation and comparison of pulsed and continuous wave radiofrequency electron paramagnetic resonance techniques for in vivo detection and imaging of free radicals

The performance of two electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometers/imagers, one configured in pulsed mode and the other in continuous wave (CW) mode, at an operating frequency of 300 MHz is compared. Using the same resonator (except for altered Q-factors), identical samples and filling factors in the two techniques have been evaluated for their potentials and limitations for in vivo spectroscopic and imaging applications. The assessment is based on metrics such as sensitivity, spatial and temporal resolution, field of view, image artifacts, viable spin probes, and subjects of study. The spectrometer dead time limits the pulsed technique to samples with long phase memories (>275 ns). Nevertheless, for viable narrow-line spin probes, the pulsed technique offers better sensitivity and temporal resolution. The CW technique, on the other hand, does not restrict the choice at spin probes. In addition, the phase-sensitive narrow-band detection of the CW technique gives artifact-free images even for large objects. Selected examples illustrating the performance of the CW and pulsed techniques are presented to put the capabilities of the two techniques in perspective.     

Refocused primary echo: A zero dead time detection of the electron spin echo envelope modulation

We report on the two-dimensional (2D) implementation of the refocused primary electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) technique, its theory and experimental application to a model system and a system of biological interest. This technique is virtually free of dead time along one time coordinate. The ESEEM obtained by integration of the 2D time-domain data of the refocused primary ESEEM over one of the time coordinates shows the intensity of the sum combination harmonics proportional to k² for k 1 and proportional to k for k 1 (k is a usual notation for the modulation amplitude factor). This feature, in combination with the adjustment of k by means of variation of the operational frequency of the spectrometer, was found to be very useful for detection of protons with distributed hyperfine interaction parameters situated close to the electron spin.     

Hybrid recoil mass analyzer at IUAC — First results using gas-filled mode and future plans

Hybrid recoil mass analyzer (HYRA) is a unique, dual-mode spectrometer designed to carry out nuclear reaction and structure studies in heavy and medium-mass nuclei using gas-filled and vacuum modes, respectively and has the potential to address newer domains in nuclear physics accessible using high energy, heavy-ion beams from superconducting LINAC accelerator (being commissioned) and ECR-based high current injector system (planned) at IUAC. The first stage of HYRA is operational and initial experiments have been carried out using gas-filled mode for the detection of heavy evaporation residues and heavy quasielastic recoils in the direction of primary beam. Excellent primary beam rejection and transmission efficiency (comparable with other gas-filled separators) have been achieved using a smaller focal plane detection system. There are plans to couple HYRA to other detector arrays such as Indian national gamma array (INGA) and 4π spin spectrometer for ER tagged spectroscopic/spin distribution studies and for focal plane decay measurements.