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.     

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.     

Increasing the pump-up rate to polarize He gas using spin-exchange optical pumping method

In recent years, polarized ³He gas has increasingly been used as neutron polarizers and polarization analyzers. Two of the leading methods to polarize the ³He gas are the spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) method and the meta-stable exchange optical pumping (MEOP) method. At present, the SEOP setup is comparatively compact due to the fact that it does not require the sophisticated compressor system used in the MEOP method. The temperature and the laser power available determine the speed, at which the SEOP method polarizes the ³He gas. For the quantity of gas typically used in neutron scattering work, this speed is independent of the quantity of the gas required, whereas the polarizing time using the MEOP method is proportional to the quantity of gas required. Currently, using the SEOP method to polarize several bar-liters of ³He to 70% polarization would require 20−40 h. This is an order of magnitude longer than the MEOP method for the same quantity of gas and polarization. It would therefore be advantageous to speed up the SEOP process. In this article, we analyze the requirements for temperature, laser power, and the type of alkali used in order to shorten the time required to polarize ³He gas using the SEOP method.     

In situ SEOP polarised He neutron spin filter for incident beam polarisation and polarisation analysis on neutron scattering instruments

We discuss the development and characterisation of a new in situ spin exchange optical pumping (SEOP) based ³He neutron spin filter polarisation device. We present results from a recent test of the prototype system developed with the Institut Laue-Langevin. The polariser was installed on the polarised reflectometer CRISP at ISIS in the analyser position. The ³He was pumped continuously in situ on the beamline. The system also integrated a ³He adiabatic fast passage spin flipper that allowed reversal of the ³He and therefore neutron polarisation state, allowing for measurement of all four polarisation cross-sections. The system was run for a number of days reaching a ³He polarisation of 63%.     

Optimised adiabatic fast passage spin flipping for He neutron spin filters

We describe here a method of performing adiabatic fast passage (AFP) spin flipping of polarized ³He used as a neutron spin filter (NSF) to polarize neutron beams. By reversing the spin states of the ³He nuclei the polarization of a neutron beam can be efficiently reversed allowing for the transmission of a neutron beam polarized in either spin state. Using an amplitude modulated frequency sweep lasting 500 ms we can spin flip a polarized ³He neutron spin filter with only 1.8×10⁻⁵ loss in ³He polarization. The small magnetic fields (10-15 G) used to house neutron spin filters mean the ³He resonant frequencies are low enough to be generated using a computer with a digital I/O card. The versatility of this systems allows AFP to be performed on any beamline or in any laboratory using ³He neutron spin filters and polarization losses can be minimised by adjusting sweep parameters.     

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.     

Small-angle polarized neutron scattering study of spherical Fe16N2 nano-particles for magnetic recording tape

We have performed small-angle polarized neutron scattering experiments of spherical Fe₁₆N₂ nano-particles, which are potential candidate materials for high density magnetic recording tape. The results were analyzed based on a core-shell model, and we evaluated the magnetic structure of the particles. The correlation between the magnetic structure and magnetic stability of the particles were discussed in terms of high density recordings.     

Hyperpolarized 83Kr MRI of lungs

Hyperpolarized (hp) ⁸³Kr (spin I = 9/2) is a promising gas-phase contrast agent that displays sensitivity to the surface chemistry, surface-to-volume ratio, and surface temperature of the surrounding environment. This proof-of-principle study demonstrates the feasibility of ex vivo hp ⁸³Kr magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of lungs using natural abundance krypton gas (11.5% ⁸³Kr) and excised, but otherwise intact, rat lungs located within a custom designed ventilation chamber. Experiments comparing the ⁸³Kr MR signal intensity from lungs to that arising from a balloon with no internal structure inflated to the same volume with krypton gas mixture suggest that most of the observed signal originated from the alveoli and not merely the conducting airways. The ⁸³Kr longitudinal relaxation times in the rat lungs ranged from 0.7 to 3.7 s but were reproducible for a given lung. Although the source of these variations was not explored in this work, hp ⁸³Kr T₁ differences may ultimately lead to a novel form of MRI contrast in lungs. The currently obtained 1200-fold signal enhancement for hp ⁸³Kr at 9.4 T field strength is found to be 180 times below the theoretical upper limit.     

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.     

Electric polarization memory effect in a magnetoelectric multiferroic CuFe1−xGaxO2

Magnetic oxide CuFeO₂ is a magnetoelectric multiferroic with new type of spin–polarization coupling different from that in the spin-current mechanism, where magnetic field-induced or nonmagnetic impurity-induced proper helical magnetic ordering generates a spontaneous electric polarization parallel to the helical axis. Using a CuFe_1−xGa_xO₂ sample with x=0.035, in which the single ferroelectric phase is realized below T_N8 K in zero magnetic field unlike CuFe_1−xAl_xO₂, we have performed pyroelectric current, thermally stimulated current (TSC) and polarized neutron diffraction measurements to study a memory effect that the electric polarization is partially preserved even for 2nd-cooling from above T_N without poling electric field. It was found that the charge trapped during 1st-cooling with poling electric field, which is released as TSC on heating, plays an important role in the memory effect.     

Double exchange model for RuSr2(Eu,Gd)Cu2O8

We propose a double exchange model to describe the RuO₂ planes of RuSr₂(Eu,Gd)Cu₂O₈. The Ru⁺⁵ ions are described by localized spins, and additional electrons provided by the superconducting CuO₂ planes are coupled ferromagnetically to them by Hund rules coupling. We calculate the spin structure factor, magnetic susceptibility and magnetization as a function of magnetic field and temperature, using a Monte Carlo algorithm in which the Ru⁺⁵ spins are treated as classical. Several experiments which seemed in contradiction with one another are explained by the theory.     

钯膜分离氢氦过程中浓差极化现象

根据设计,未来聚变堆等离子体排灰气中除了氘氚还含有以惰性气体为主的杂质气体,会在钯膜纯化氢同位素的过程中产生不容忽视的浓差极化现象,降低排灰气的处理效率。针对这一现象,以氢氦混合气为源项,研究了钯膜在分离氢氦过程中浓差极化对渗氢性能的影响,利用极化系数对浓差极化的程度进行评估,并考察了渗氢驱动力、氦气浓度以及原料气流量对极化系数的影响。结果表明:在150,300,450kPa时的H2/He选择性分别为37 460,18 347和7935,可以看出钯膜致密性良好;浓差极化系数随着渗氢驱动力和氦气浓度的升高而增大,对于原料气流量的变化则呈现相反趋势。     

钯膜分离氢氦过程中浓差极化现象

根据设计,未来聚变堆等离子体排灰气中除了氘氚还含有以惰性气体为主的杂质气体,会在钯膜纯化氢同位素的过程中产生不容忽视的浓差极化现象,降低排灰气的处理效率。针对这一现象,以氢氦混合气为源项,研究了钯膜在分离氢氦过程中浓差极化对渗氢性能的影响,利用极化系数对浓差极化的程度进行评估,并考察了渗氢驱动力、氦气浓度以及原料气流量对极化系数的影响。结果表明：在150,300,450 kPa时的H2/He选择性分别为37 460,18 347和7935,可以看出钯膜致密性良好;浓差极化系数随着渗氢驱动力和氦气浓度的升高而增大,对于原料气流量的变化则呈现相反趋势。     

Dispersive effects in optically pumped (2 S1) He atomic vapor measured by using a geometrical optics technique

This paper describes an experiment where the Hanle effect and the double magnetic resonance in the metastable state of an atomic transition is detected, not by a modification of the light absorbed or reemitted by the atoms, but by a modification of the refractive index of the atomic vapor. The detection is based on the deflection of the optical pumping beam by a prismatic cell containing the gas and measured with the help of a position sensitive detector.     

Velocity selective optical pumping and repumping effects with counter and copropagating laser radiations for D<Subscript>2</Subscript> lines of rubidium

The effects of a strong control or pump laser, counter propagating or copropagating with the probe beam, on the probe absorption spectra of ⁸⁵Rb and ⁸⁷Rb-D₂ transitions have been investigated inside a room temperature Rb vapour cell. In both cases a set of strong velocity selective resonance dips are observed at different velocities. Their movements across the Doppler broadened probe absorption profile have been studied for different lock frequencies of the control laser. These spectra are modified by optical pumping effects due to the presence of another hyperfine component of the ground state. A repumping laser, from the dark hyperfine component of the ground level transfers almost 75% of the atoms from the dark state to the pump probe cycle hence reducing the optical pumping effect. A numerical simulation is done to explain the observed spectra. The effect of a control laser on the Lamb dip spectrum of the probe laser has also been investigated. The control beam is used to improve the strength of a weak hyperfine dip on the Doppler broadened probe spectrum. The strength of the hyperfine dip increases by a factor of 3.2 in presence of the control laser. The observed dips show that pump-probe spectroscopy can be used as velocity selectors of atoms.     

晶体NiX2(X=Cl,Br,I)的光谱和电子顺磁共振谱研究

在强场耦合图像中,采用双自旋-轨道耦合(SO)参量模型建立了过渡族3d2(3d8)离子的三角对称下全组态光谱能级和电子顺磁共振(EPR)公式.与经典的晶体场理论(仅考虑中心金属离子的自旋-轨道耦合作用)相比较,该公式还包括了配体离子的自旋-轨道耦合作用的贡献,这一模型在应用于计算共价性较强的晶体光谱和电子顺磁共振谱可得到合理的结果.作为验证,用完全对角化方法研究了品体NiX2(X=Cl,Br,I)的光谱和电子顺磁共振谱,结果表明,理论与实验很好地符合.建立的全组态谱能级和电子顺磁共振公式为更精确地计算光谱和电子顺磁共振谱提供了一条可行方法.