Effective gyromagnetic ratios in a mixture of noble gases with artificial nuclear magnetization

The precession of nuclear magnetic moments for a noble gas in an external magnetic field upon the laser pumping of nuclear magnetization is considered. A shift of the nuclear magnetic resonance for a mixture of noble gases with different gyromagnetic ratios of nuclei is observed.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance of laser-polarized noble gases in molecules,materials, and organisms

The sensitivity of conventional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques is fundamentally limited by the ordinarily low spin polarization achievable in even the strongest NMR magnets. However, by transferring angular momentum from laser light to electronic and nuclear spins, optical pumping methods can increase the nuclear spin polarization of noble gases by several orders of magnitude, thereby greatly enhancing their NMR sensitivity. This review describes the principles and magnetic resonance applications of laser-polarized noble gases. The enormous sensitivity enhancement afforded by optical pumping can be exploited to permit a variety of novel NMR experiments across numerous disciplines. Many such experiments are reviewed, including the void-space imaging of organisms and materials, NMR and MRI of living tissues, probing structure and dynamics of molecules in solution and on surfaces, NMR sensitivity enhancement via polarization transfer, and low-field NMR and MRI.     

Novel MRI applications of laser-polarized noble gases

Gas-phase nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has great potential as a probe for a variety of interesting physical and biomedical problems that are not amenable to study by water or similar liquid. However, NMR of gases was largely neglected due to the low signal obtained from the thermally polarized gases with very low sample density. The advent of optical pumping techniques for enhancing the polarization of the noble gases³He and¹²⁹Xe has bought new life to this field, especially in medical imaging where³He lung inhalation imaging is approaching a clinical application. However, there are numerous applications in materials science that also benefit from the use of these gases. We review primarily nonmedical applications of laser-polarized noble gases for both NMR imaging and spectroscopy and highlight progress with examples from our laboratory including high-resolution imaging at millitesla applied field strength and velocity imaging of convective flow. Porous media microstucture has been probed with both thermal and laser-polarized xenon, as xenon is an ideal probe due to low surface interaction with the grains of the porous media.     

Measurement of thermal diffusivity by magnetic resonance imaging

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) may be used for monitoring temperature changes within samples based on measurements of relaxation times, the diffusion coefficient of liquids, proton resonance frequency or phase shifts. Such methods may be extended to the explicit measurement of the thermal diffusivity of materials by NMR imaging. A method based on measuring nuclear spin phase shifts or changes in the equilibrium nuclear magnetization has been developed for measuring transient thermal diffusion effects and thermal diffusivity with potential applications in NMR thermotherapy and materials science. In this method, a thermal pulse is applied to a medium, and the resultant temporal variations of the nuclear spin phase or of the magnitude of the nuclear magnetization produced by the thermal pulse are monitored at a spatial distance. The results obtained on common fluids agree well with the data from other methods.     

Relaxation of hyperpolarized 129Xe in a deflating polymer bag

In magnetic resonance imaging with hyperpolarized (HP) noble gases, data is often acquired during prolonged gas delivery from a storage reservoir. However, little is known about the extent to which relaxation within the reservoir will limit the useful acquisition time. For quantitative characterization, 129Xe relaxation was studied in a bag made of polyvinyl fluoride (Tedlar). Particular emphasis was on wall relaxation, as this mechanism is expected to dominate. The HP 129Xe magnetization dynamics in the deflating bag were accurately described by a model assuming dissolution of Xe in the polymer matrix and dipolar relaxation with neighboring nuclear spins. In particular, the wall relaxation rate changed linearly with the surface-to-volume ratio and exhibited a relaxivity of κ=0.392±0.008 cm/h, which is in reasonable agreement with κ=0.331±0.051 cm/h measured in a static Tedlar bag. Estimates for the bulk gas-phase 129Xe relaxation yielded T1bulk=2.55±0.22 h, which is dominated by intrinsic Xe-Xe relaxation, with small additional contributions from magnetic field inhomogeneities and oxygen-induced relaxation. Calculations based on these findings indicate that relaxation may limit HP 129Xe experiments when slow gas delivery rates are employed as, for example, in mouse imaging or vascular infusion experiments.     

Optical ac Stark Effect in ~(23)Na NMR Spectra

1.ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＯｐｔｉｃａｌａｃＳｔａｒｋｅｆｆｅｃｔ(ａｌｓｏｓｉｍｐｌｙｃａｌｌｅｄａｓｌｉｇｈｔｓｈｉｆｔ),ａｓａｎｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｉｎｇｆｉｅｌｄｏｆｉｎｖｅｓｔｉｇａｔｉｏｎｆｏｒｔｅｓｔｉｎｇｔｈｅｆｕｎｄａｍｅｎｔａｌｔｈｅ?..     

Hyperpolarized xenon nuclear spins detected by optical atomic magnetometry

We report the use of an atomic magnetometer based on nonlinear magneto-optical rotation with frequency-modulated light to detect nuclear magnetization of xenon gas. The magnetization of a spin-exchange-polarized xenon sample (1.7 c m(3) at a pressure of 5 bars, natural isotopic abundance, polarization 1% ), prepared remotely to the detection apparatus, is measured with an atomic sensor. An average magnetic field of approximately 10 nG induced by the xenon sample on the 10 cm diameter atomic sensor is detected with signal-to-noise ratio approximately 10 , limited by residual noise in the magnetic environment. The possibility of using modern atomic magnetometers as detectors of nuclear magnetic resonance and in magnetic resonance imaging is discussed. Atomic magnetometers appear to be ideally suited for emerging low-field and remote-detection magnetic resonance applications.     

Magnetically tunable surface plasmon resonance based on a composite consisting of noble metal nanoparticles and a ferromagnetic thin film

We demonstrate magnetically tunable surface plasmon resonance based on a composite consisting of noble metal nanoparticles and ferromagnetic thin film. We found that both the frequency and linewidth of the localized surface plasmon resonance can be manipulated by applying an external magnetic field. The underlying mechanism is attributed to the variation of the dielectric constant in the ferromagnetic thin film resulting from the change of magnetization. Our result shown here paves an alternative route for manipulation of the characteristics of the surface plasmon resonance, which may serve as a new design concept for the development of magneto-optical devices.     

Bifurcation magnetic resonance in films magnetized along hard magnetization axis

We study low-frequency ferromagnetic resonance in a thin film magnetized along the hard magnetization axis performing an analysis of magnetization precession dynamics equations and numerical simulation. Two types of films are considered: polycrystalline uniaxial films and single-crystal films with cubic magnetic anisotropy. An additional (bifurcation) resonance initiated by the bistability, i.e. appearance of two closely spaced equilibrium magnetization states is registered. The modification of dynamic modes provoked by variation of the frequency, amplitude, and magnetic bias value of the ac field is studied. Both steady and chaotic magnetization precession modes are registered in the bifurcation resonance range.     

超极化气体肺部磁共振成像

磁共振成像(MRI)技术具有非侵入、无放射性的特点,在临床疾病诊断中具有独特的优势,但是肺部空腔的特殊结构使传统质子MRI无法对其直接成像.自旋交换光抽运(SEOP)方法可以使惰性气体原子的极化度增强4个量级以上,从而使肺部的气体MRI成为可能.该文介绍了超极化惰性气体肺部MRI的最新研究进展,包括超极化气体磁共振相关参数的测量方法、肺部通气结构成像、肺部气体交换功能成像,同时比较了常用于肺部MRI气体的优点和缺点.     

Electric-field-induced in-plane effective 90° magnetization rotation in Co_2FeAl/PMN-PT structure

The in-plane effective 90° magnetization rotation of Co_2 Fe Al thin film grown on PMN-PT substrate induced by the electric field is investigated at room temperature. The magnetic hysteresis loops under different positive and negative electric fields are obtained, which reveals remanent magnetization can be mediated by the electric field. Moreover, under positive electric fields, the obvious 90° magnetization rotation can be observed, while remanent magnetization is nearly unchanged under negative electric fields. The result is consistent with the electric field dependence of effective magnetic field,which can be attributed to the piezostrain effect in Co_2 Fe Al/PMN-PT structure. In addition, the piezostrain-mediated 90° magnetization rotation can be demonstrated by the result of resonance field changing with electric field in the measurement of ferromagnetic resonance, which is promising for the design of future multiferroic devices.     

Spatially resolved adsorption isotherms of thermally polarized perfluorinated gases in yttria-stabilized tetragonal-zirconia polycrystal ceramic materials with NMR imaging

This paper presents the results obtained by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging of perfluorinated gases in mesoporuous solids. NMR images of nuclear spin density as a function of gas pressure permits spatially resolved measurements that are analogous to conventional bulk Brunauer-Emmett-Teller adsorption isotherm measurements. The use of NMR imaging allows the nondestructive evaluation of macroscopic spatial variations in the underlying mesoporous structure, for materials such as partially sintered Y-TZP (yttria-stabilized tetragonal-zirconia polycrystal) ceramics. All NMR measurements were performed with octafluorocyclobutane (C₄F₈) gas, using only the thermal Boltzman nuclear magnetization.     

An E.P.R. study of the anion radical of diplieadane

A study of radiation damping e ects in inhomogeneously broadened systems leads to an analytical theorem that relates the time integral area of the nuclear magnetic resonance signal to the tipping angle of the magnetization caused by the circuit generated reaction field. The theorem is applied to predict relative signal areas in examples of pulse sequences. In a few selected cases these predictions are also checked by experiment.     

Influence of noble gases on electron cyclotron heated hydrogen plasma

A quartz-chamber 2.45-GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) is designed at Peking University for the diagnostic purpose. Experimental results show that the added noble gases in hydrogen could cause a decrease of electron temperature and an increase of electron density. In this work, a numerical model is upgraded for ECR plasma generated by mixed gases. On this basis, the model is applied for the composed hydrogen plasma with additional noble gases. And dependences of neutral gas density and electron density on electron temperature are presented for individual gas (He, Ar, and H₂) and gas mixture, respectively. The calculated results are basically in accordance with the diagnostic results of ECRIS.     

NMR applications for a study of converted photochemical processes kinetics

The analytical expression describing dynamics of the nuclear magnetization with the use of double resonance nuclear magnetic resonance of a procedure of transfer of spin saturation under photo-induced chemical exchange is obtained. Three different experimental procedures for the definition of the effective rate constants and the quantum yield of responses are considered.     

Pore sizes and pore connectivity in rocks using the effect of internal field.

A novel nuclear magnetic resonance method has been applied to several sandstone rocks to measure the pore size distribution using the magnetization decay due to diffusion in the internal magnetic field (DDIF). By comparing the results of the DDIF and Hg porosimetry experiments, a clear picture of pore connectivity emerges. The pore body diameter can be defined using the DDIF data and is found to have a clear trend as a function of porosity.     

Macroscopic and Microscopic Fields in High-Resolution Liquid NMR

The microscopic magnetic-induction field “seen by each nucleus” in a material medium and which is generated by a rapidly time-dependent spin magnetization gives rise to surprising new features in high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. The purpose of the present paper is to show how the relations between the macroscopic average fields, the magnetization, and the microscopic fields (which were studied and clarified long ago at thermal equilibrium) can be extended to the present NMR context in which the magnetization can become rapidly time dependent and unrelated to thermal equilibrium properties.     

Mobile high resolution xenon nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the earth's magnetic field

Conventional high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra are usually measured in homogeneous, high magnetic fields (>1 T), which are produced by expensive and immobile superconducting magnets. We show that chemically resolved xenon (Xe) NMR spectroscopy of liquid samples can be measured in the Earth's magnetic field (5 x 10(-5) T) with a continuous flow of hyperpolarized Xe gas. It was found that the measured normalized Xe frequency shifts are significantly modified by the Xe polarization density, which causes different dipolar magnetic fields in the liquid and in the gas phases.     

Spectroscopic issues in optical polarization of 3He gas for Magnetic Resonance Imaging of human lungs

The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of human lungs for diagnostic purposes became possible by using nuclear spin hyperpolarized noble gases, such as ³He. One of the methods to polarize ³He is the Metastability Exchange Optical Pumping (MEOP), which up to now has been performed at low pressure of about 1 mbar and in low magnetic field below 0.1 T (standard conditions). The equilibrium nuclear polarization can reach up to 80%, but it is dramatically reduced during the subsequent gas compression to the atmospheric pressure that is necessary for the lungs examination. Further polarization losses occur during the transportation of the gas to the hospital scanner. It was shown recently that up to 50% polarization can be obtained at elevated pressure exceeding 20 mbar, by using magnetic field higher than 0.1 T (nonstandard conditions). Therefore, following the construction of the low-field MEOP polarizer located in the lab, a dedicated portable unit was developed, which uses the magnetic field of the 1.5 T MR medical scanner and works in the continuous-flow regime. The first in Poland MRI images of human lungs in vivo were obtained on the upgraded to ³He resonance frequency Siemens Sonata medical scanner. An evident improvement in the image quality was achieved when using the new technique. The paper shows how spectroscopic measurements of ³He carried out in various experimental conditions led both to useful practical results and to significant progress in understanding fundamental processes taking place during MEOP.     

Photoinduced magnetism and random magnetic anisotropy in organic-based magnetic semiconductor V(TCNE){x} films, for x approximately 2

The V(TCNE){x}, x approximately 2 is an organic-based amorphous ferrimagnet, whose magnetic behavior is significantly affected in the low field regime by the random magnetic anisotropy. It was determined that this material has thermally reversible persistent change in both magnetization and conductivity driven by the optical excitation. Here, we report results of a ferrimagnetic resonance study of the photoinduced magnetism in V(TCNE){x} film. Upon optical excitation (lambda approximately 457.9 nm), the ferrimagnetic resonance spectra display substantial changes in their linewidths and line shifts, which reflect a substantial increase in the random magnetic anistropy. The results reflect the role of magnetic anisotropy in disordered magnets and suggest a novel mechanism of photoinduced magnetism in V(TCNE){x} induced by the increased structural disorder in the system.