Radiation damping in closed expanding universes

The dynamics of a coupled model (harmonic oscillator-relativistic scalar field) in Conformal Robertson-Walker (k = +1) spacetimes is investigated. The exact radiation-reaction equation of the source-including the retarded radiation terms due to the closed space geometry – is obtained and analyzed. A suitable family of Lyapunov functions is constructed to show that, if the spacetime expands monotonely, then the source's energy damps. A numerical simulation of this equation for expanding Universes, with and without Future Event Horizon, is performed.     

Design and construction of a versatile dual volume heteronuclear double resonance microcoil NMR probe

Improved NMR detection of mass limited samples can be obtained by taking advantage of the mass sensitivity of microcoil NMR, while throughput issues can be addressed using multiple, parallel sample detection coils. We present the design and construction of a double resonance 300-MHz dual volume microcoil NMR probe with thermally etched 440-nL detection volumes and fused silica transfer lines for high-throughput stopped-flow or flow-through sample analysis. Two orthogonal solenoidal detection coils and the novel use of shielded inductors allowed the construction of a probe with negligible radio-frequency cross talk. The probe was resonated at ¹H–²D (upper coil) and ¹H–¹³C (lower coil) frequencies such that it could perform 1D and 2D experiments with active locking frequency. The coils exhibited line widths of 0.8–1.1 Hz with good mass sensitivity for both ¹H and ¹³C NMR detection. ¹³C-directly detected ²D HETCOR spectra of 5% v/v ¹³C labeled acetic acid were obtained in less than 5 min. Demonstration of the probe characteristics as well as applications of the versatile two-coil double resonance probe are discussed.     

Generating spin turbulence through nonlinear excitation in liquid-state NMR

Chaotic dynamics of a water magnetization in a 600 MHz NMR spectrometer was generated by a radiation damping-based electronic feedback. Erratic induction signal was observed for several tens of seconds. The analysis of the data shows that this chaotic behaviour can be ascribed to spin turbulence in the sample and that a simpler model based on the three-dimensional Bloch equations modified to include a feedback field may not account for the experimental data.     

Sandwich-ELISE NMR: reducing the sample volume of NMR samples

We present Sandwich-ELISE, a concatenated version of our previously proposed Experimental LIquid SEaling (ELISE) protocol, in which an aqueous sample is effectively sealed by the addition of a small layer of mineral oil, or, alternatively, a chloroform sample was sealed by a water layer. With Sandwich-ELISE, a triple layered geometry composed of deuterated chloroform/aqueous buffer/mineral oil can be used to limit the sample to the active coil volume, effectively replacing the popular Shigemi tubes. Importantly, this procedure is readily applicable to smaller diameter tubes, for which no Shigemi tubes are available. We further present spectra of a 1 microl protein sample sandwiched between the chloroform and Nujol phases in a 1mm tube, demonstrating thereby that the volume of the aqueous phase of interest can be reduced even further.     

Spontaneous emission of NMR signals in hyperpolarized proton spin systems

Hyperpolarization of nuclear spins is gaining increasing interest as a tool for improving the signal-to-noise ratio of NMR and MRI. While in principle, hyperpolarized samples are amenable to the same or similar experiments as are used in conventional NMR, the large spin polarization may give rise to unexpected effects. Here, spontaneous emission of signal was observed from proton spin systems, which were hyperpolarized to negative spin temperature by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). An unexpected feature of these emissions is that, without any radio-frequency excitation, multiple beats arise that cannot be explained by the Bloch equations with radiation damping. However, we show that a simple modification to these equations, which takes into account an additional supply of hyperpolarized magnetization from a reservoir outside of the active detection region, can phenomenologically describe the observed signal. The observed effect demonstrates that even well-known mechanisms of spin evolution can give rise to unexpected effects when working with hyperpolarized samples, which may need to be addressed through the development of new experimental techniques.     

Radiation damping in an anharmonic oscillator

The effect of radiation damping in an anharmonic oscillator has been calculated using the technique of Kryloff and Bogolituboff. It is found that the intensity distribution of the emitted spectral line is asymmetric about its intensity maximum. The index of asymmetry agree with the experimental data on x-rayK _{a 1,2}lines.     

Nonlinear polarisation effects in optical microcoil resonators with fibre twist and birefringence

We study the nonlinear response of optical microcoil resonators (OMRs) based on twisted birefringent microfibres by incorporating Kerr nonlinearity into the underlying coupled mode equations. The resulting hysteresis characteristics were found to be highly polarisation dependent, with both the switching powers and contrast levels strongly influenced by the twist-induced cross-polarisation coupling. In addition, the existence of multiple bistability in OMRs is explored when the two orthogonal polarisations' resonances are spectrally close enough to influence the propagation of a monochromatic pump. Both the bistability and nonlinear switching may potentially be utilised for implementing polarisation-sensitive devices, especially for signal processing purposes, and benefit from the low threshold powers needed to observe nonlinear effects in OMRs.     

超强激光-等离子体相互作用过程中的辐射阻尼效应

基于包含辐射阻尼效应的电子运动方程,通过坐标变换,分析了圆极化和线极化超强激光在等离子体中传播时,辐射阻尼效应对电子运动的影响。结果表明:两种极化情况下,辐射阻尼效应都随等离子体密度的增大而增强;在圆极化激光中,激光强度在1023~1026 W/cm2范围(对应于不同的等离子体密度)时,辐射阻尼效应将对电子的运动产生显著的反作用,而对于线极化激光,只有当激光强度远大于极限光强时,辐射阻尼效应才对电子的运动有明显的作用。     

Cross polarization, radio frequency field homogeneity, and circuit balancing in high field solid state NMR probes

Homogeneous radio frequency (RF) fields are important for sensitivity and efficiency of magnetization transfer in solid state NMR experiments. If the fields are inhomogeneous the cross polarization (CP) experiment transfers magnetization in only a thin slice of sample rather than throughout the entire volume. Asymmetric patterns have been observed in plots of the CP signal versus RF field mismatch for an 800 MHz solid-state NMR probe where each channel is resonated in a single-ended mode. A simple model of CP shows these patterns can be reproduced if the RF fields for the two nuclei are centered at different places in the coil. Experimental measurements using B1 field imaging, nutation arrays on extremely short NMR samples, and de-tuning experiments involving disks of copper incrementally moved through the coil support this model of spatially offset RF fields. We have found that resonating the high frequency channel in a double-ended or "balanced" mode can alleviate this field offset problem, and have implemented this in a three-channel solid state NMR probe of our own design.     

Temperature compensation techniques for resonantly enhanced sensors and devices based on optical microcoil resonators

It is well known that environmental effects have a major influence on the optical stability of resonantly enhanced sensors and devices based on optical microfiber, namely in the configuration of a microcoil resonator. We propose a geometric design to reduce such effects by chirping the refractive index of successive paired turns in the microcoil resonator. The resistance to external effects such as temperature drifts can be considerably improved by optimizing the coupling coefficients and chirping profile, such that the wavelength span of the resonant condition is maximized without compensating its sensitivity to the desired measurand. We also demonstrate another technique based on resonant wavelength tuning using a compact piezoelectric ceramic disk measuring 3 mm in diameter and 1 mm in thickness, attaining tunability as high as 6.5 pm/100 V.     

An alternative tuning approach to enhance NMR signals

By using spin-noise type measurement we show that the resonance frequency of the reception circuit of classical NMR spectrometers does not match the Larmor frequency even if, in emission, the electronic circuit is perfectly tuned at the Larmor frequency and matches the amplifier impedance. We also show that this spin-noise method can be used to ensure a match between the Larmor frequency and the reception circuit resonance frequency. In these conditions, (i) the radiation damping field is in perfect quadrature to the magnetization and (ii) the NMR signal level and potentially the signal-to-noise ratio, are enhanced. This choice induces a change of the probe resonance frequency by several hundreds of kHz for 500 or 700 MHz spectrometer. We show that the resulting mismatch condition for emission can be removed by adding other tuning and matching degrees of freedom located on the excitation line (or by symmetry on the reception line) decoupled to the probe resonance circuit by the crossed diodes.     

高温核磁共振探头

本文设计研制了一种用于动态核磁共振研究的高温探头,它适用于磁铁极间距离为30mm的核磁共振波谱仪,探头中样品处的温度从室温至1300K连续可变,探头既可用于质子(¹H)也可用于其它核(如¹¹B,³¹P,²³Na等),并给出了高温探头的结构、指标及实际应用于测量的例子。     

High-pressure,high-resolution NMR probe working at 400 MHZ

Abstract

A probe for obtaining high-resolution multinuclear NMR spectra at elevated pressures with a Bruker AM-400 spectrometer is described. The probe is designed for pressures up to 200 MPa and has been used between -40 to 150°C. We obtain routinely a resolution of about 1 Hz for proton (400 MHz) spectra using deuterium as an internal field lock. This probe is easily interchangeable with a commercial probe. We also describe a simple sample tube made of a 5 mm commercial NMR tube and a machinable glass cap with a total volume of about 1 cm³.     

Characterization and Suppression Techniques for Degree of Radiation Damping in Inversion Recovery Measurements

Radiation damping is a phenomenon in which transverse nuclear magnetization couples with the current in a coil used in nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. This results in an additional magnetic field that increases the relaxation pathway for the magnetization, which then relaxes back to equilibrium more quickly. Radiation damping has been shown to affect longitudinal relaxation time (T₁) measurement in inversion recovery experiments. In this work, we demonstrate that the extent of radiation damping depends upon the T₁ of the sample. Radiation damping difference spectroscopy is used to characterize the severity of radiation damping, while gradient inversion recovery is used for radiation damping suppression in T₁ measurements. At field strength of 9.4 T, for the radiation damping characteristic time (T_rd) of 50 ms, these investigations show non-negligible radiation damping effects for T₁ values greater than T_rd, with severe distortions for T₁ longer than about 150 ms, showing reasonable agreement with the predicted T_rd. We also report a discrepancy between published expressions for the characteristic radiation damping time.     

The first high-pressure high-resolution NMR probe for a normal bore cryomagnet1

Abstract

We describe a high-pressure high-resolution NMR probe fitting into a 4.7 Tesla normal bore (50 mm Ø) cryomagnet used with a Bruker AC-200 spectrometer. The probe is designed for a pressure range from 0.1 to 200 MPa and can be used in a temperature domain from -50 to + 120°C. Eguipped with a double tuned frequeney adapter circuit the probe is used for ¹H (200 MHz) observation and ²H (30.7 MHz) field locking for easy homogeneity adjustment. The resolution obtained routinely is better than 1 Hz (< 5′10^?9). Other frequencies, e.g. 27.1 MHz for ¹⁷O observation, can easily be obtained by changing and according the frequency adapter box.     

Planar microcoil-based microfluidic NMR probes

Microfabricated small-volume NMR probes consisting of electroplated planar microcoils integrated on a glass substrate with etched microfluidic channels are fabricated and tested. 1H NMR spectra are acquired at 300 MHz with three different probes having observed sample volumes of respectively 30, 120, and 470 nL. The achieved sensitivity enables acquisition of an 1H spectrum of 160 microg sucrose in D2O, corresponding to a proof-of-concept for on-chip NMR spectroscopy. Increase of mass-sensitivity with coil diameter reduction is demonstrated experimentally for planar microcoils. Models that enable quantitative prediction of the signal-to-noise ratio and of the influence of microfluidic channel geometry on spectral resolution are presented and successfully compared to the experimental data. The main factor presently limiting sensitivity for high-resolution applications is identified as being probe-induced static magnetic field distortions. Finally, based on the presented model and measured data, future performance of planar microcoil-based microfluidic NMR probes is extrapolated and discussed.     

Improving NMR sensitivity in room temperature and cooled probes with dipolar ions

The response of inverse triple resonance cold and conventional probes to ionic strength has been compared under a variety of conditions relevant to protein NMR. Increasing the salt concentration degrades probe performance in terms of sensitivity, and the effect is more severe for cold probes and with increasing magnetic field strength. This is especially noticeable for experiments that involve a spin lock or decoupling, where sensitivity losses compared with pure water can be more than 2-fold. We have investigated the use of glycine as a substitute for salt as a supporting solute for proteins, and we show that it has a minimal effect on probe tuning or performance. Readily available d5-Gly is a useful co-solute for protein NMR, especially at high magnetic field strengths and on cold probes, as it maintains solubility while not degrading probe performance.     

Ultra-broadband NMR probe: numerical and experimental study of transmission line NMR probe

We have reinvestigated a transmission line NMR probe first published by Lowe and co-workers in 1970s [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 45 (1974) 631; 48 (1977) 268] numerically and experimentally. The probe is expected to be ultra-broadband, thus might enable new types of solid-state NMR experiments. The NMR probe consists of a coil and capacitors which are connected to the coil at regular intervals. The circuit is the same as a cascaded LC low-pass filter, except there are nonzero mutual inductances between different coil sections. We evaluated the mutual inductances by Neumann's formula and calculated the electrical characteristics of the probe as a function of a carrier frequency. We found that they were almost the same as those of a cascaded LC low-pass filter, when the inductance L of a section was estimated from the inductance of the whole coil divided by the number of the sections, and if C was set to the capacitance in a section. For example, the characteristic impedance of a transmission line coil is given by Z=(L/C)(1/2). We also calculated the magnitude and the distribution of RF magnetic field inside the probe. The magnitude of RF field decreases when the carrier frequency is increased because the phase delay between neighboring sections is proportional to the carrier frequency. For cylindrical coils, the RF field is proportional to (pinu/2nu(d))(1/2)exp(-nu/nu(d)), where the decay frequency nu(d) is determined by the dimensions of the coil. The observed carrier frequency thus must be much smaller than the decay frequency. This condition restricts the size of transmission line coils. We made a cylindrical coil for a 1H NMR probe operating below 400 MHz. It had a diameter 2.3mm and a pitch 1.2mm. Five capacitors of 6pF were connected at every three turns. The RF field strength was 40 and 60 kHz at the input RF power 100 W by a calculation and by experiments, respectively. The calculations showed that the RF field inhomogeneity along the coil axis was caused by a standing wave of current, which arose from the reflections at the coil ends. The calculation showed that the homogeneity could be improved by decreasing the pitch near the both ends and making their impedance close to that at the center.     

低温NMR探头的应用

在过去10年中研发新核磁共振探头一直是制造者争夺的活跃领域. 最近，因其灵敏度的巨大提高，低温冷却探头得到人们格外的关注. 利用这一技术可大量节省谱仪机时. 对于低γ核可直接测定天然丰度样品而不必标记，这远比节省机时更为重要. 本文评述了针对5～10 Hz优化2 mg天然丰度噁唑烷酮抗菌素eperezolid的 CIGAR-HMBC-¹H-¹⁵N谱的比较，一个是采自美国瓦里安公司的5 mm低温探头，另一个是采自瓦里安公司传统室温3 mm 梯度三共振探头. 利用低温探头大约10 min就可记录到大部份¹H-¹⁵N远 程相关，26 min可观察到几乎所有的远程共振. 而在同样条件下使用3 mm传统梯度反式三共振探头无法得到有用的谱图，要想取得相同的结果须累加约18 h.