Polarized He neutron spin filter program at the JCNS

Polarized neutron instruments will occupy about 80% of the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) instrument park. A successful polarized ³He program will be integral to many of these instruments. We have been focusing the developments on spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) to polarize the ³He gas in situ. Where possible, in situ polarization using the SEOP method will provide higher time averaged performance of the instruments. Further this allows a custom-built and independent source of polarized ³He to be developed optimized for each instruments demands. In this paper we will: present an argument for the advantages of in situ polarization; describe an in situ polarizer we have constructed, and initial tests of its performance; describe testing of polarization analysis for small angle neutron scattering on biological samples, and our plans for an in situ polarizer for this application.     

External cavity design of high-power diode laser for polarized helium-3 neutron spin filters based on spin-exchange optical pumping

Polarized neutron spin filters are being developed based on spin-exchange optical pumping. In the present study a high-power diode laser (85 W) was used to excite Rb atoms and the laser linewidth was narrowed using an external cavity. The optics in the external cavity were designed by ray tracing. The ray-trace calculations demonstrated that a doublet lens in front of the laser eliminates aberrations. The maximum spectral peak height in the doublet optics was found to be 25% higher than for a singlet lens.     

Measurement of the neutron beam polarization of BL05/NOP beamline at J-PARC

We measured the neutron beam polarization of the BL05/NOP (Neutron Optics and Physics) beamline at J-PARC with an accuracy of less than 10⁻³ using polarized ³He gas as a neutron spin analyzer. Precise polarimetry of the neutron beam is necessary to understand the beamline optics as well as for the asymmetry measurements of the neutron beta decay, which are planned in this beamline.     

Development and test of SEOP neutron spin filter in Japan

We have begun the development of an in-situ spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) system aiming to use it as a neutron spin filter for incident beam polarization at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). To use it, it is recommended that the optics be adjusted easily, have high stability, and have a small size. In this paper we improved our previous SEOP system aiming to use it in J-PARC and performed a neutron beam test at the JRR-3 NOP beamline to see the performance of the neutron spin filter (NSF). The polarization of the ³He gas reached 73%. This paper gives the present status of the development of in-situ SEOP system in J-PARC.     

A wide angle neutron spin filter system using polarized He

Polarized ³He neutron spin filters can operate over a wide neutron energy range and provide a large angular acceptance. A compact ³He neutron spin filter system has been developed for the Multi-Axis Crystal Spectrometer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research. Sealed ³He cells, polarized by spin-exchange optical pumping, are used as polarizer and analyzer. The polarization of the neutrons incident on the sample is inverted by flipping the polarization of the ³He gas in the polarizer, with only a small effect on the analyzer cells. The cell fabrication process, ³He spin flipper, and the holding magnetic field are discussed and we present the results of a first on-linetest.     

The structure of He and the neutron electric form factor from polarization observables

As there are no free neutron targets one has to resort to the nuclear targets deuterium or helium. In order to reduce nuclear effects blurring the information on nuclear form factors the technique of double polarization experiments had been developed. Recent experiments at MAMI measuring the electric form factor of the neutron are discussed. In addition, other single and double nucleon knockout experiments are described which support the buildup of a consistent interpretation of nuclear structure in ³He.     

Polarized He spin-filters using MEOP for wide-angle polarization analysis

Polarized ³He spin-filters are currently employed on a wide range of neutron instruments at the ILL, primarily for diffraction, reflectometry and fundamental physics. A wide range of recent and ongoing improvements are enabling the implementation of this technique for wide-angle polarization analysis for inelastic measurements. These include

• Progress in metastability-exchange optical pumping (MEOP), resulting in on-beam polarization levels of up to 80%.

• 1st generation “Pastis-1” coils for rotating the neutron polarization at the sample position, allowing for “XYZ” polarization analysis.

• 2nd generation “Pastis-2” coils with no blind angles in the equatorial plane.

• Spin-filter cells with glued silicon windows, allowing for wide-angle “banana” cells with very low background scattering.

• Polarization-preserving capillaries for transferring polarized ³He gas into the cell without manual access.

The development of capillary transfer also allows for a completely new way of working with ³He spin-filters: connecting the cells on the instruments directly to the MEOP filling station several tens of meters away and allowing for quasi-continuous operation.     

Interdependence of in-cell xenon density and temperature during Rb/129Xe spin-exchange optical pumping using VHG-narrowed laser diode arrays

The (129)Xe nuclear spin polarization (P(Xe)) that can be achieved via spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) is typically limited at high in-cell xenon densities ([Xe](cell)), due primarily to corresponding reductions in the alkali metal electron spin polarization (e.g. P(Rb)) caused by increased non-spin-conserving Rb-Xe collisions. While demonstrating the utility of volume holographic grating (VHG)-narrowed lasers for Rb/(129)Xe SEOP, we recently reported [P. Nikolaou et al., JMR 197 (2009) 249] an anomalous dependence of the observed P(Xe) on the in-cell xenon partial pressure (p(Xe)), wherein P(Xe) values were abnormally low at decreased p(Xe), peaked at moderate p(Xe) (~300 torr), and remained surprisingly elevated at relatively high p(Xe) values (>1000 torr). Using in situ low-field (129)Xe NMR, it is shown that the above effects result from an unexpected, inverse relationship between the xenon partial pressure and the optimal cell temperature (T(OPT)) for Rb/(129)Xe SEOP. This interdependence appears to result directly from changes in the efficiency of one or more components of the Rb/(129)Xe SEOP process, and can be exploited to achieve improved P(Xe) with relatively high xenon densities measured at high field (including averaged P(Xe) values of ~52%, ~31%, ~22%, and ~11% at 50, 300, 500, and 2000 torr, respectively).     

Research on glass cells for He neutron spin filters

Glass cells play an important role in polarized ³He neutron spin filters. To evaluate the scattering and absorption contribution from glass cells during neutron scattering experiments, we measured small-angle scattering and neutron transmission in GE180 and other glasses. The small-angle neutron scattering measurements revealed that the glasses used for ³He spin filters have acceptably lower scattering: dΣ(Q)/dΩ=4-7×10⁻⁴ cm⁻¹ at Q=0.03-0.12 Å⁻¹. The transmission measurement was performed at J-PARC. Neutron transmission of about 92% through empty GE180 cells was observed over a wide wavelength range 0.014-7.0 Å. To pursue the possibility of being a structural influence on ³He spin relaxation in GE180 glass cells, we performed precise X-ray diffraction measurement using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8. From these measurements, a structural difference was observed among GE180 glasses with different thermal treatments.     

Development of a compact on-beam SEOP neutron spin filter

We have designed and demonstrated a prototype on-beam spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) ³He neutron spin filter (NSF). It is designed as the incident neutron polarizer for spallation neutron sources, where the installation space is limited due to thick radiation shielding. The size of the NSF is roughly 50 cm×50 cm×25 cm including the diode-laser optics with a frequency narrowing external cavity, and a cylindrical ³He cell as large as a diameter of 5 cm and a length of 10 cm can fit. A neutron beam test was performed at the NOP beamline of JRR-3 to see the performance of the NSF.     

Applications of He neutron spin filters at the NCNR

At the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR), we have applied ³He neutron spin filters (NSFs) to the instruments where ³He NSFs are advantageous, such as thermal triple-axis spectrometry, small-angle neutron scattering, and diffuse reflectometry. We present the status of our development and application of this method, including polarized gas production by spin-exchange optical pumping, magnetostatic cavities for storage of the polarized gas on the beam line, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based, on-line monitoring and reversal of the ³He polarization. We present the status of developing user-friendly interfaces incorporated into the instrument software to handle these ³He neutron spin filters while taking data and performing data analysis. Finally we discuss the status of development of a polarization capability on the multi-axis crystal spectrometer, which requires polarization analysis over a 220° angular range.     

MR imaging of apparent 3He gas transport in narrow pipes and rodent airways

High sensitivity makes hyperpolarized ³He an attractive signal source for visualizing gas flow with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Its rapid Brownian motion, however, can blur observed flow lamina and alter measured diffusion rates when excited nuclei traverse shear-induced velocity gradients during data acquisition. Here, both effects are described analytically, and predicted values for measured transport during laminar flow through a straight, 3.2-mm diameter pipe are validated using two-dimensional (2D) constant-time images of different binary gas mixtures. Results show explicitly how measured transport in narrow conduits is characterized by apparent values that depend on underlying gas dynamics and imaging time. In ventilated rats, this is found to obscure acquired airflow images. Nevertheless, flow splitting at airway branches is still evident and use of 3D vector flow mapping is shown to reveal surprising detail that highlights the correlation between gas dynamics and lung structure.     

3D MRI of non-Gaussian (3)He gas diffusion in the rat lung

In (3)He magnetic resonance images of pulmonary air spaces, the confining architecture of the parenchymal tissue results in a non-Gaussian distribution of signal phase that non-exponentially attenuates image intensity as diffusion weighting is increased. Here, two approaches previously used for the analysis of non-Gaussian effects in the lung are compared and related using diffusion-weighted (3)He MR images of mechanically ventilated rats. One approach is model-based and was presented by Yablonskiy et al., while the other approach utilizes the second order decay contribution that is predicted from the cumulant expansion theorem. Total lung coverage is achieved using a hybrid 3D pulse sequence that combines conventional phase encoding with sparse radial sampling for efficient gas usage. This enables the acquisition of nine 3D images using a total of only approximately 1 L of hyperpolarized (3)He gas. Diffusion weighting ranges from 0 s/cm(2) to 40 s/cm(2). Results show that the non-Gaussian effects of (3)He gas diffusion in healthy rat lungs are directly attributed to the anisotropic geometry of lung microstructure as predicted by the Yablonskiy model, and that quantitative analysis over the entire lung can be reliably repeated in time-course studies of the same animal.     

Magnetic properties of <Superscript>3</Superscript>He on the recursive lattices

We considered the Heisenberg model on the recursive lattices with multi-spin interaction in a strong magnetic field as an approximation of the two-dimensional kagome lattice, as well as hexagonal recursive lattices as an approximation of triangular lattice, for solid ³He. In a strong magnetic field it is possible to approximate the Heisenberg model with the Izing one. Using dynamic approach, we obtain exact recursion relations for partition functions. Diagrams of the magnetization versus external magnetic field with different spin-exchange parameters and temperatures are presented. Magnetization plateaux, bifurcation points, and doublings are obtained.     

Spectroscopy of the helium 2 3S–2 3P transition above 0.01 Tesla – application to optical pumping studies

Optical pumping of helium makes use of the 2 ³S–2 ³P transition at 1083 nm. We report on a study of this transition in magnetic fields up to 1.5 T. Based on these results, an optical method to measure nuclear polarisation in arbitrary field has been developed. Preliminary results on optical pumping at 0.1 T are presented. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Magnetization and Lyapunov exponents on a kagome chain with multi-site exchange interaction

The Ising approximation of the Heisenberg model in a strong magnetic field, with two, three and six spin exchange interactions is studied on a kagome chain. The kagome chain can be considered as an approximation of the third layer of ³He absorbed on the surface of graphite (kagome lattice). By using dynamical approach we have found one- and multi-dimensional mappings (recursion relations) for the partition function. The magnetization diagrams are plotted and they show that the kagome chain is separating into four sublattices with different magnetizations. Magnetization curves of two sublattices exhibit plateaus at zero and 2/3 of the saturation field. The maximal Lyapunov exponent for multi-dimensional mapping is considered and it is shown that near the magnetization plateaus the maximal Lyapunov exponent also exhibits plateaus.     

Pulmonary MRI contrast using Surface Quadrupolar Relaxation (SQUARE) of hyperpolarized Kr

Hyperpolarized ⁸³Kr has previously been demonstrated to enable MRI contrast that is sensitive to the chemical composition of the surface in a porous model system. Methodological advances have lead to a substantial increase in the ⁸³Kr hyperpolarization and the resulting signal intensity. Using the improved methodology for spin exchange optical pumping of isotopically enriched ⁸³Kr, internal anatomical details of ex vivo rodent lung were resolved with hyperpolarized ⁸³Kr MRI after krypton inhalation. Different ⁸³Kr relaxation times were found between the main bronchi and the parenchymal regions in ex vivo rat lungs. The T₁ weighted hyperpolarized ⁸³Kr MRI provided a first demonstration of surface quadrupolar relaxation (SQUARE) pulmonary MRI contrast.     

Instabilities of the Conventional Nucleus-Nucleus Interactions for (<Superscript>3</Superscript>H<Superscript>4</Superscript>He) Proton Pickup Cross-Sections

The angular distributions of the ²⁶Mg, ²⁸Si, ³⁰Si(³H, ⁴He) reactions have been analyzed using the exact finite-range DWBA calculations. The optical model potential is assumed to have the conventional spin-orbit potential. The obtained cross-sections with the spin-orbit potential are not significantly different from those calculated using the phenomenological Woods–Saxon form factors in the forward angle regions. The inclusion of the spin-orbit potential gives the best fit to the data and greatly improves the large angle cross-sections. Different reasonable spectroscopic factors are found to account well for the cross-section magnitudes.     

Numerical investigation of spin-torque using the Heisenberg model

We present numerical calculations of the spin transfer torque resulting in current-induced domain wall motion. Rather than the conventional micromagnetic finite difference or finite element method, we use an atomistic/classical Heisenberg spin model approach, which is well suited to study geometrically confined domain walls. We compute the behaviour of domain walls in a one dimensional chain when currents are injected using adiabatic and non-adiabatic spin torque terms. Our results are compared to analytical calculations and are found to agree very well for small current densities. At larger current densities deviations are observed, which can be attributed to the approximations used in the analytical calculations.